She spent years on the front lines of America’s battle against terrorism; however, Michele Rigby Assad didn’t wear a uniform. Instead, she served as an undercover operative for the Central Intelligence Agency in the most dangerous places on earth.
Beyond dealing with extremists and terrorists, beyond the startling demands of her training, the most surprising part of this story is a battle she fought inside herself. Even while she focused all of her skill and training into accomplishing missions most of us couldn’t begin to imagine, there was still a voice inside of her she couldn’t shake.
“So for whatever reason I kind of grew up just assuming that everybody had it all figured out, and I didn’t. I don’t know why that is, but I think it’s important to share those insecurities because when people hear, ‘CIA’, ‘Undercover’, you travel to all these countries, speak three languages, it all sounds so impressive. They think I must be a different brand of human being.”
Michele says nothing could be further from the truth.
“The actual reality is that I am no different than anybody else. It’s just that I got really good at trusting God, and whatever door He opened – even if it scared me at first – I walked through it anyway. I built up the courage.”
She contrasts the young woman who first stepped foot into CIA HQ with the person she is today.
“Where I started out is very different from where I am right now. I developed the courage to do things that I didn’t know whether I was fully capable of doing.”
Michele Rigby Assad is a former undercover agent of the Central Intelligence Agency. Her new book is titled .
On the Road with Michele Rigby Assad
