How My Dyslexic Brain Turned Me Into a Writer
- Iddo Gefen
- Jun 1
- 4 min read
Updated: Jul 5
I have a confession to make. Even though I’m a writer, I once hated reading more than anything. As a child diagnosed with dyslexia, it was my true nemesis. I couldn’t get through a single page, and I didn’t want to. Every book I tried felt like a grueling exam. I remember the teacher asking the class whether we understood the meaning of the sentences we were reading, while I was still stuck just trying to sound out the words. So around the age of eight, when all the kids in my class could already read and I still couldn’t, I made a vow: I would never read a book in my life.Luckily, my older sister Michal had other plans.
Unlike me, Michal was a serious bookworm. One night, after I’d gone to bed, she came into my room, sat down beside me, and announced in a theatrical voice: “Ladies and gentlemen, tonight we’ll be reading Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. Please settle into your beds and enjoy the show.” I was, of course, the only one in the audience and the combination of books and an annoying older sister sounded like the worst thing in the world. But as the little brother, I didn’t really have a say. So Michal began reading the book aloud, night after night, to her captive audience.
At first, I thought she was unbearable. But before long, I found myself curious about the plot, drawn into Harry Potter’s world. I fell in love with the story, and when my sister finished the book, I turned to her and said, “Okay, I think tomorrow we should start the second one.” But Michal turned out to be a shrewd negotiator. She agreed on one condition: that I read a few pages from each chapter myself. Reading was the last thing I wanted to do, but unfortunately, it was the only way to find out what happened to Harry in his second year at Hogwarts. And that’s how I started reading and I haven’t been able to stop since.
(Okay, maybe I’m exaggerating a little. When I was binge-watching Succession on HBO, I didn’t exactly have time for books.)
