THE CIA IS LOOKING FOR WALKING CONTRADICTIONS.
You must keep secrets but skillfully persuade others to tell you theirs. You have to love your country but willingly leave it behind for dangerous operations around the world. You need to live a double life but be trustworthy enough to carry out the nation’s most sensitive tasks.
Michele Rigby Assad was one of those people. Working undercover for the CIA, she served in treacherous areas throughout the Middle East—a woman leading some of the most highly skilled operatives on the planet.
The threats were real. The missions were perilous.
And deep inside, Michele wondered: Could she really do this job or had she misunderstood her life’s calling?
In Breaking Cover, Michele has been cleared to drop cover and tell her story of incredible struggle, of unexpected challenges and thwarted missions, and most significantly, of powerfully realizing what really matters in the face of her greatest fears.
I was always comfortable relying on Ms. Assad’s exceptional substantive expertise and commitment to her colleagues and our mission when we served together in an overseas war zone. Ms. Assad’s deeply introspective account of her CIA career, faith, and humanitarian work is an exciting read with firsthand insightful observations of the war-torn Middle East and valuable lessons learned, which readers will cherish.
Daniel Hoffman
Retired senior CIA officer
Michele Rigby Assad’s Breaking Cover is an absolutely amazing read! It will grab your attention on every single page as you follow Michele’s remarkable journey working as a spy for the CIA. Even as someone who spent three years undercover for the FBI at a Fortune 500 company during the investigation of one of the largest white-collar crime cases in US history, I was amazed at Michele’s courage and perseverance as she fought terrorism in the most dangerous part of the world, the Middle East. I was especially touched at how she inspires us all. Michele is a modern-day hero! Her book will inspire you to do more for your community, your country, and your society, and to live a life of significance.
Mark Whitacre, PhD
Subject of the Warner Brothers movie The Informant!, starring Matt Damon as Mark Whitacre
The first time I met Michele, I was struck by her fashionista style, her quick wit, bright smile, and immense knowledge of the Middle East. She quickly proved herself to be a hard worker, a savvy ops officer, and an outside-of-the-box thinker. Her vivid descriptions of her life and travels with the CIA are very authentic, very personal, and a great read. The day Michele told me she was leaving the Agency, she explained that she felt a calling to do something impactful for women, and though she didn’t know what that was going to be, she knew it would be significant. Her story is a riveting one. Although I can neither confirm nor deny that I worked with Michele, I can tell you she is a great patriot with a great faith who will continue to blaze trails wherever she goes.
Former Coworker
Breaking Cover is an authentic and honest look into a world that operates all around us, but to which most are oblivious. Michele masterfully shares the soul-baring tale of her life, from small-town Southern girl to fierce intelligence operative challenging evil face-to-face. This story is not a simple autobiography, but a story of how one individual—walking in humility and faith, recognizing that life is not about her, and willing to risk it all to serve her fellow man—changed and saved an untold number of lives. One thing is certain: Breaking Cover is just the beginning of Assad’s story. The best is yet to come.
Susan Richmond Johnson
Managing principal, The Ashcroft Group LLC; former chief of staff for management, US Department of Homeland Security
Bold, beautiful, and brave, Michele’s Breaking Cover is a must-read. She grants readers rare access into what it’s like to spend over a decade as an undercover officer in the CIA through riveting accounts of navigating life and work as a woman in war zones across the Middle East. Michele also lets us in on a bigger secret: She never felt like she was the secret agent type. Her courageous stories of resilience, faith, and grace will inspire millions of women (and men) to press on despite self-doubt, and to keep moving forward even in the face of fear.
Jenny Blake
Author of “Pivot: The Only Move that Matters Is Your Next One”
Breaking Cover is a memoir about getting out of your comfort zone, doing hard things, and the unexpected blessings that materialize when you push through your fear.
