Today’s program is hosted by Kerby Anderson. His guest in the first hour is Anthony DeStefano. He has a new book: Inside the Atheist Mind. Kerby’s guest in the second hour is Michele Rigby Assad whose new book: Breaking Cover, her tale of her years as a CIA agent and a counterterrorism expert.
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Anthony has also written several bestselling children's books, including: This Little Prayer of Mine, Little Star (winner of the 2011 Mom's Choice Award), The Donkey that No One Could Ride, A Travel Guide to Heaven for Kids, The Sheep that No One Could Find, The Puppy That No One Wanted, and Roxy the Ritzy Camel (2016).
Anthony has also written two photo-gift books: I Just Can't Take It Anymore, and OK I Admit It, I’m Afraid.
Anthony has been the host of two television series, A Travel Guide to Life, and A Travel Guide to Heaven, both broadcast on the Eternal Word Television Network (EWTN).
He has received many awards and honors from religious communities throughout the world. In 2002, he was given an honorary Doctorate from the Joint Academic Commission of the National Clergy Council and the Methodist Episcopal Church for "the advancement of Christian beliefs in modern culture." The commission is made up of outstanding Evangelical, Orthodox and Protestant theologians and educators.
Anthony is a Knight of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, the oldest Order in the Catholic Church. He is an avid pilot, a successful businessman, and a longtime pro-life activist, having worked with Fr. Frank Pavone, national director of Priests for Life, for over twenty-five years. He is a member of the Board of Directors of Priests for Life, as well as Rachel’s Vineyard, the largest post-abortion healing ministry in the world.
Using irony and a healthy dose of playful sarcasm, Inside the Atheist Mind lampoons, teases, and deflates the atheist position, unmasking it for what it is--an empty, intellectually barren philosophy, devoid of any logic and common sense.
After a decade of government service, Michele left the undercover life to serve as a public speaker, trainer, and international security consultant focused on the Middle East, Europe, North Africa, and Asia. She and her husband, Joseph, live in Florida.
Michele holds a master's degree in contemporary Arab studies from Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service and a political science degree from Palm Beach Atlantic University.
Michele credits student-led mission trips to Egypt, Russia, and Ukraine and a study abroad program in Egypt, Israel, and the West Bank as being the catalysts for her passion for foreign cultures and international travel. The year she spent studying in the Middle East changed the course of her life, taking her from rural central Florida to the front lines of the war on terror. Michele is motivated to use her unique platform to educate and inspire, showing how critical courage is to living a life of impact and purpose.
Michele writes about her many passions at www.michelerigbyassad.com, where she features articles on counterterrorism, personal security, the Middle East, faith, and inspiration. Connect with her there, as well as on Facebook (Michele Rigby Assad) and Twitter @MicheleRigAssad.
Michele Rigby Assad was one of those people.
As a CIA agent and a counterterrorism expert, Michele soon found that working undercover was an all-encompassing job. The threats were real; the assignments perilous. Michele spent over a decade in the agency―a woman leading some of the most highly skilled operatives on the planet, secretly serving in some of the most treacherous areas of the Middle East, and at risk as a target for ISIS. But deep inside, Michele wondered: Could she really do this job? Had she misunderstood what she thought was God’s calling on her life? Did she have what it would take to survive?
The answer came when Michele faced her ultimate mission, one with others’ lives on the line―and it turned out to have been the plan for her all along. In Breaking Cover, Michele has at last been cleared to drop cover and tell her story: one of life-or-death stakes; of defeating incredible odds; and most of all, of discovering a faith greater than all her fears.