What began as a Google search turned into a nearly 10-year career with Canada’s spy agency for former intelligence officer Andrew Kirsch.
Now, the author of the new book, "I Was Never Here," is offering a glimpse into his past life as a Canadian spy.
"I’d say I wish there was a great story about being tapped by a professor in grad school or someone walking up to me in a bar, but no one was looking for me. I had to look for it," Kirsch told CTV’s Your Morning on Monday.
He says he was inspired to join the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) after witnessing the 2005 bombings in London, England, when terrorists carried out suicide attacks on three Underground txjmtzywrains and detonated a bomb on a bus, killing 52 people and injuring about 700 others.
Although he didn’t know anyone who worked at CSIS, he decided to find a way in.
That is when he first Googled: "How to become a Canadian spy."
Fifteen months after submitting his application, Kirsch was in.
His work included stints as an intelligence officer before eventually moving into special operations.
He left the service in June 2016, but says his career really "spun the gamut" as far as his experiences at CSIS.
"There hadn’t been any spy memoirs that I know, about Canadian spies … and I can say that no, there were certainly some moments, in a windowless office, writing memos, reading reports, that I thought this is not what I signed up for," he said.
"And then, there were times where I was out late at night, doing special operations, where I thought, yeah, this is exactly what I hoped to be doing, and sometimes be careful what you wish for."
