Granger Smith is embarking on a new chapter.

The singer, who left country music in 2023 to focus on ministry at his local church outside Austin, Texas, exclusively told Fox News Digital that his new book, “Poison in the Well,” will be published Sept. 8.

The 46-year-old’s previous book, “Like a River,” was published in 2023 before his farewell from the music industry. It focuses on how he coped with grief after his 3-year-old son, River, died in a drowning accident in 2019.

GRANGER SMITH’S WIFE SAYS FAITH SAVED MARRIAGE AFTER LOSING 3-YEAR-OLD SON IN DROWNING ACCIDENT

Granger Smith exclusively told Fox News Digital that his new book, “Poison in the Well,” is being published on Sept. 8, 2026. (Courtesy of Granger Smith)

“This one is more exciting to me because ‘Like a River’ was wrapped so much in my personal story of losing my son, River, our journey through grief, loss and recovery, and then the birth of my son Maverick,” he explained. “And that really encompasses that era. And in that era, God saved me.”

“…God saving me was what spurred so much change in my life,” the father of four said. “…I left an entire music career. It changed the whole direction of my life and my family’s life. The new book walks directly down that journey so that if anyone says, ‘Your book “Like a River” was inspiring,’ then I could hand them ‘Poison in the Well’ and say, ‘These are the mechanics of why everything changed after.’”

Smith admitted that six months after losing his son, he found himself asking a question he never thought he would: What if his faith couldn’t hold him up?

“…Most of this conversation we have now in this book, it’s all in hindsight,” he said. “It’s me really digging through what happened to me. I think the first time I asked the question was, ‘What if everything I believe about my faith was actually built on shifting sand?’”

“Poison in the Well: 11 Toxic Beliefs That Kept Me from the Living Water of Jesus” is available for preordering. (Thomas Nelson)

“And that is a question I believe a lot of people would ask in the deep, dark throes of grief when you lose a loved one, a marriage or a job — or, this might sound trivial, but it’s not — even a pet,” he said. “Anything that you lose that you love, and you’ve created an identity around — including a career — when you lose that, you start to think, ‘Why do I feel so lost? Why do I feel like I have no hope?’

River Kelly Smith passed away in June 2019. He was 3 years old. (Courtesy of Granger Smith.)

“And for those people who have a faith in any religion, they will start to question the validity of that religion that they stand on.”

“I thought, ‘I’m a Christian. Why do I feel hopeless? Doesn’t the Bible say we’re supposed to have hope? And I don’t,’” he reflected. “If that’s the case, then what am I standing on? Because this feels like sand. That was a time of deep reflection.”

Since walking away from country music, Smith has found healing in connecting with others who have also faced loss. Now at a different stage, he uses his ministry to guide people through grief and spiritual doubt, reexamining what it means to hold onto faith in difficult seasons.

Granger Smith told Fox News Digital he’s been keeping busy behind the scenes writing a new book about his uplifting relationship with God. (Courtesy of Granger Smith)

“I was a musician who was always interested in the meet-and-greets,” he explained. “I remember reading stories of certain artists that said the meet-and-greets are the worst part of their day because they bring them down. They hear everyone’s problems, and then they have to go perform. And sometimes, musicians would even cancel meet-and-greets so they could just play the music.

In 2023, Granger Smith announced he would be leaving country music to dedicate his life to Christian ministry. (Courtesy of Granger Smith)

“I was one of the strange ones who actually liked hearing people and learning about their struggles, joys and sorrows.”

“Since leaving music and focusing on ministry, that’s all I do: focus on the people,” he said.

Granger Smith is inviting fans and curious readers to examine the foundation of their faith. (Courtesy of Granger Smith)

“I think I became less interested in entertaining people and more interested in helping people. That has given me so much joy. I sleep so much better at night knowing that today’s work was enough — it’s not about the next single, the next album, the next tour.”

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Granger Smith and his wife Amber are proud parents to four children — London, Lincoln, the late River and Maverick. (Courtesy of Granger Smith)

“That’s an incredibly freeing feeling,” he added.

But Smith hasn’t completely ruled out music for good. He hopes to use songwriting to help others experience the Bible in a more personal way — an idea sparked by his children.

Granger Smith’s upcoming book unpacks “misguided beliefs” that he believes steer people away from having a strong relationship with God. (Courtesy of Granger Smith)

“There’s a new way that God has circled music back into my life,” he said.

Granger Smith, who devotes his time to his family, told Fox News Digital there are aspects of showbiz he doesn’t miss. (Courtesy of Granger Smith)

“People often ask, ‘Are you done with music? Will there ever be more music from you?’ And the answer was always ‘I don’t know.’ I don’t know what God will do, but God does give each of us certain nuances that we’re better at than other things. And I’ve always loved music, and I’ve always enjoyed speaking through music.”

Smith said his family starts each day with a Bible story and prayer, then sets aside a few minutes to sing together.

Granger Smith is raising his family in Texas. (Courtesy of Granger Smith)

“I realized that I could make up songs according to Scriptures,” said Smith.

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In his new book, Granger Smith explores “misconceptions, half-truths and widely accepted norms that kept him from truly knowing Jesus.” (Courtesy of Granger Smith)

“We could sing fun little songs that are just Scripture songs and add a melody to them that’s easy to memorize. And so, we started doing that a few years ago. And then, I realized maybe these could be helpful for others, not only kids, but also other people — to be able to think through Scripture and to memorize Scripture in a unique way by singing it.”

“So maybe in the future, there’ll be an album by me released that has Scripture songs,” he teased.

Granger Smith previously wrote the New York Times bestselling book “Like a River: Finding the Faith and Strength to Move Forward after Loss and Heartache.” (Courtesy of Granger Smith)

Smith pointed out that there are things about showbiz he doesn’t miss.

Granger Smith’s son, Maverick Beckham Smith, was born on Aug. 20, 2021. (Courtesy of Granger Smith)

“The problem with music for me was never writing songs, singing songs, or releasing songs,” he explained. “What became problematic for me was performing on tour for a lot of reasons. It took me away from my family. It took me away from my local church. I was missing all of that because I was always touring on Saturday nights.”

“It became an idol for me,” Smith admitted.

Granger Smith and his wife, Amber, live north of Austin, Texas, with their children, London, Lincoln, and Maverick. (Courtesy of Granger Smith)

“It was very hard for me to separate promoting myself and my music, standing on a stage in front of a lot of people. To say not to let it go to my head is almost underplaying it, because it’s nearly impossible for anyone to be worshiped in that way.

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Granger Smith has been teaching Scripture songs to his children, including son Maverick (pictured here). (Courtesy of Granger Smith)

“And in music, it was usually about trying to get adoration from the crowd, needing applause. It means you’re succeeding in the thing that you’re trying to do, which is dangerous. It’s dangerous for a human.”

“Your heart just breaks for these megastars,” said Smith. “The goal of all the touring, all the concerts, and all the music releases is ultimate stardom. And it’s never satisfied by a certain level of being famous. It always craves more. The result is a man or a woman who’s lost all sense of who they are. Men and women are not meant to be worshiped. We’re not created to be worshiped. And if we are, it actually hurts us. It becomes poison in our veins.”

Granger Smith fell in love with music at an early age before he went on to become an award-winning, platinum-selling country music singer/songwriter. (Courtesy of Granger Smith)

Today, Smith hopes his book will help others grow a closer relationship with God during the hardest times of their lives, just as he has.

In 2017, Granger Smith started the Granger Smith Podcast, where he discusses faith and family. (Courtesy of Granger Smith)

“I want people to see through my story that I was living a life thinking I was earning something from God instead of loving God for what He has done,” he said. “Now, I want to do things to please Him in response to that.”

“…The book also reveals some toxins that we as humans tend to fall into. I look at them like check-engine lights. If you’re doing this, or you’re involved in that, it might be a check-engine light that you don’t see … that’s the goal.”

WARNING: This article includes graphic and disturbing accounts from the October 7 massacre in Israel.

Hamas and its Palestinian collaborators used sexual and gender-based violence “deliberately and systematically” as an inherent part of a wider strategy of the 2023 massacres in southern Israel, according to a report released Tuesday by the Civil Commission on Oct. 7 Crimes Against Women and Children.

The Israeli nonprofit said its investigation documented evidence of abuse at multiple sites during the Oct. 7 terror invasion, including the Nova Music Festival, kibbutzim near the Gaza border, Israel Defense Forces bases, among hostages in captivity and in the condition of recovered bodies showing signs consistent with sexual violence.

According to the report, investigators identified at least 13 recurring forms of abuse, including rape, sexual torture, shootings directed at victims’ genital areas and abuse carried out after death.

ISRAEL’S QUEST FOR JUSTICE EXPOSES HAMAS’ SYSTEMATIC SEXUAL VIOLENCE CAMPAIGN DURING OCTOBER 7 MASSACRE

A Hamas terrorist is seen walking around a residential neighborhood in southern Israel in undated bodycam footage released by the Israel Defense Forces. The footage was shown to foreign correspondents on Oct. 16, 2023, as part of a 40-minute reel compiled from the Hamas attack on Oct. 7. (Israel Defense Forces/AP)

Dr. Cochav Elkayam-Levy, founder and chair of the Civil Commission and a principal co-author of the report, told Fox News Digital that the greatest challenge in compiling the findings was the team’s repeated exposure to graphic material and the trauma associated with reviewing it on a regular basis.

“We had to not only collect materials, but also review and analyze it alongside forensic experts while witnessing human suffering at its worst,” Elkayam-Levy said. “What motivated us was the denial, the hesitation and the questioning. We wanted to ensure that the world knows what happened to the victims.

“For us, it is a final act of justice for the victims,” she added.

The report also detailed cases in which sexual violence was inflicted in front of or involving family members, including one incident in which relatives were allegedly forced to carry out acts on each other.

FREED HOSTAGE ROM BRASLAVSKI DETAILS ABUSE, STARVATION DURING 738 DAYS IN GAZA CAPTIVITY

People visit the site of the Nova music festival in Re’im, southern Israel, where revelers were killed in a cross-border attack by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023. The visit took place on Jan. 14, 2024, marking 100 days since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas. (Leo Correa/AP)

It further accused Hamas and allied perpetrators of using videos, digital platforms and social media as tools to magnify psychological harm, spread fear and publicize the attacks, including by distributing sexualized material.

Elkayam-Levy said she hopes the findings will not remain confined to academics, human rights organizations or activists, but will also be studied by counterterrorism and national security experts to better understand and confront such atrocities.

“We cannot prevent what we do not fully understand,” Elkayam-Levy said. “No single prosecution could ever capture the full magnitude of these crimes in the way this report does. It is therefore critical that policymakers, decision-makers, members of Congress and senators find ways to formally recognize these findings and hold hearings so we can begin addressing this issue. We want the findings of this report to receive formal institutional recognition.”

The report, Elkayam-Levy noted, underscores that victims of the Oct. 7 atrocities came from 52 countries, highlighting the global scope and impact of the attack.

Witness testimony cited in the report included an account of a woman being sexually assaulted before being beheaded. Another witness described seeing a woman dragged from a vehicle, pinned against a wall, repeatedly raped and then stabbed, with the assault allegedly continuing after her death.

In another case, a witness described discovering the body of a man whose genitals had been severed, lying beside the body of a woman holding them, in what the report described as an apparent effort to degrade and humiliate the victims.

A Hamas terrorist is seen walking around a residential neighborhood in southern Israel in undated bodycam footage released by the Israel Defense Forces amid the Hamas attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. (Israel Defense Forces/AP)

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Investigators said some female victims were found naked or partially unclothed, with evidence of severe mutilation and objects including grenades, nails and household tools inserted into their bodies. The report also cited gunshot wounds, cuts and burn injuries concentrated on intimate areas.

The report said some female bodies brought to morgues showed broken pelvises or legs, bloodied underwear and additional trauma to the abdomen or groin.

Former hostages, both women and men, have also testified to rape, sexual torture and other forms of abuse during abduction or captivity, according to the report. It said some female captives reported sexual assaults while receiving treatment in Gaza hospitals for injuries sustained during the attacks.

A bloodied handprint stains a wall inside a house in the Nir Oz kibbutz near the Gaza border after a Hamas attack days earlier. (Alexi J. Rosenfeld/Getty Images)

Male hostages likewise described sexual abuse while in captivity, including assaults in showers and incidents carried out under armed threat while victims were naked, the report said. One former hostage recounted being sexually assaulted when a captor forcibly rubbed his genitals against the victim’s anus.

Last month, former hostage Rom Braslavski recounted the abuse he said he endured during captivity in an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital.

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“They would hit me with whatever they had on hand. I underwent severe torture, bondage and sexual abuse. Everything they could do to me, they did. My body is still covered in scars. After four months of torture, I was clinically dead, rolling my eyes and passing out. They decided to stop the violence and brought doctors to treat me with injections and gave me food again,” he said.

The report said sexual and gender-based violence was “widespread and systematic” and constituted an “integral component” of both the Oct. 7 attacks and the subsequent treatment of captives, while calling the prosecution of such crimes an “urgent” priority to be pursued through international accountability mechanisms.

A soldier of the Military Rabbinate unit opens a container holding bodies killed during the Hamas attack on Israel’s southern border as identification continues at the Shura army base in Ramle, Israel, on Oct. 24, 2023. (Amir Levy/Getty Images)

Among its recommendations, the commission called for targeted sanctions against individuals and entities accused of carrying out or materially supporting the Oct. 7 attack and its aftermath. It also urged action against what it described as denial, minimization or politicization of the sexual crimes committed during the massacre and in captivity.

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“The Commission further recommends that Israel adopt a comprehensive gender strategy within its prosecutorial framework and establish a specialized chamber or panel of judges dedicated to the prosecution of sexual and gender-based crimes committed on October 7th and during captivity,” the report said.

Elkayam-Levy said the report has received widespread international attention, including front-page coverage in U.S. and global media outlets. “We feel the discussion has shifted from questioning whether these crimes occurred to examining their consequences,” she said. “There is now a substantial legal evidentiary foundation preserved in a secure archive that cannot be denied.”

Republicans hoping to hold the U.S. House hit a setback Wednesday when Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves indicated he will not immediately pursue redistricting following a critical Supreme Court ruling, as officials seek to oust the leader of Democrats’ January 6 probe.

Following the Supreme Court’s “Callais” ruling on how race can or cannot factor into redistricting, several Republican-led states have moved to redraw congressional maps, arguing for race-neutral approaches — and officials in Jackson quickly took note.

Mississippi lawmakers were primed to convene a special session next week to redraw state Supreme Court and potentially congressional districts, but Reeves canceled the session Wednesday after the judge who ruled the court district maps inhibited Black candidates was overruled — sparking a now-in-limbo effort to oust entrenched former January 6 Committee chairman Bennie Thompson.

“Understand something, that maybe while it may be in the best interest of some individual politicians in Mississippi to talk about congressional redistricting, what happens in Mississippi doesn’t happen in a vacuum,” Reeves said in a talk-radio spot Wednesday.

MISSISSIPPI GOVERNOR SAYS HE WILL CALL SPECIAL SESSION TO REDRAW DISTRICT MAPS AFTER SCOTUS RULING

“I’m going to do what’s in the best interest of Mississippi and I’m going to do what’s in the best interest of America and I’m going work very closely with the Trump administration to accomplish both of those goals.”

Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves speaks after defeating Elvis Presley’s cousin Brandon in the gubernatorial race. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)

Reeves pushed back on claims he flip-flopped on congressional redistricting, noting the Magnolia State’s March 10 primary has passed — complicating any change in voting landscape, and also said he was onboard with ending what he called Thompson’s 33-year “reign of terror.”

However, Reeves suggested it is not a setback to State Auditor Shad White and others’ renewed bid to shift the Magnolia State’s GOP representation from 3-1 to 4-0 and oust Thompson.

Thompson, a firebrand Democrat from Hinds County seeking his 18th term representing the predominantly Black and largely impoverished Delta region, is in danger of losing his reliably blue seat when redistricting commences.

Thompson and Reeves briefly sparred on X, with the Democrat depicting an elephant painting Mississippi “white” while Reeves countered that Thompson was wrong to claim ownership of the district with the term “my” versus the people of Mississippi.

“It must be done to go into effect before the 2026 elections,” replied voting rights activist Scott Presler, while Pastor William Pierce of Columbia drew a state map that comprised evenly divided 22-24-point Republican districts saying “this must be done now” -— as Reeves said the issue is not “if” but “when” and that he plans for the changes to take effect for the 2027 statewide elections.

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White told Fox News Digital he was the first statewide official to publicly consider drawing-out Thompson and creating a 4-0 map, while Reeves rejected claims of pressure from the White House and Republican Party to redraw now.

As the Supreme Court was set to hand down the Callais ruling, Reeves took to Instagram to say he “do[es]n’t typically make news on a Friday afternoon” but made an “exception” to call a special session 21 days after the decision to consider redistricting.

White, a rising star in the GOP following his major anti-fraud and waste investigations, said that Thompson is “the worst congressman in America” and the state’s map favoring him must be dealt with promptly.

“Among Mississippians; normal taxpayers, Bennie Thompson is incredibly unpopular,” White said in an exclusive Fox News Digital interview Wednesday.

“As chair of the January 6 Committee, anyone who supports President Trump is not happy that Bennie Thompson represents a part of our state.”

TRUMP URGES REPUBLICANS TO ‘BE BOLD’ AS RED STATES PUSH TO REWRITE CONGRESSIONAL MAPS

“[I]t is absolutely both legally and practically possible to change our districts to a 4-0 state,” he said, pointing to Callais and Alabama’s successful bid Monday to get their “Livingston Map” through the courts.

Like Alabama, White said Mississippi officials have “dozens” of already prepared maps to choose from, including some that give each of the four congressional districts an even-keeled level of Trump support totaling 15 points or higher, citing 2024 election results.

“The real question is just whether our politicians here have the courage to actually get Bennie Thompson out. And that question remains unanswered right now,” he said.

White said Mississippi has been stuck with maps featuring a Thompson stronghold for decades, as Thompson himself told Jackson’s NBC affiliate it has been Republicans who have drawn the maps since his 1992 election to Congress.

Thompson said that the issue between the lines in the plans is race.

“I have a voting record that no other person in the [Mississippi] delegation can touch for those things that we need the most: Health care, housing, better educational opportunities… but they’d rather put somebody in position who’s against those things. And the only difference between Bennie Thompson and the rest of the delegation that represent Mississippi in Washington is that I’m Black,” Thompson told Memphis’ NBC affiliate.

REPUBLICAN RIFT PUTS SPOTLIGHT ON HIGH-STAKES SHOWDOWN OVER TRUMP-DRIVEN RED STATE REDISTRICTING

Rep. Bennie Thompson, chairman of the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the U.S. Capitol, and Vice Chairwoman Rep. Liz Cheney participate in the committee’s last public meeting in the Cannon House Office Building on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on Dec. 19, 2022. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

Thompson added Mississippi has a history of requiring federal intervention to provide equal rights to Black people, including during the Civil Rights era and suffrage fights, and compared it to the dynamic today, calling it “Jim Crow 2.0” that he will “fight back with every fiber.”

Fox News Digital reached out to Thompson for further comment.

After Reeves’ comments were reported, White told Fox News Digital that he still hopes “Thompson is redistricted-out as soon as possible – even if it’s not going to happen next week.”

Fox News Digital also reached out to Mississippi House Speaker Jason White, R-West, and Senate Leader Dean Kirby, R-Brandon for their take on Reeves’ latest move and efforts to redraw the map.

Meanwhile, Shad White pointed to New England as precedent for Mississippi drawing out Thompson, saying Kamala Harris’ 38% performance mirrors the GOP partisan makeup of multi-district blue states like Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Hampshire and Maine.

State Sen. Michael McLendon, R-Hernando, joined Shad White’s call to redraw the map to “give Speaker Johnson another ‘+1’ and send Bennie Thompson home.”

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He disputed timeframe concerns, saying that Democrats successfully sued Mississippi to redraw his region, costing the GOP their supermajority — and he was still able to run in a mid-off-year primary.

“When Democrats demanded redistricting, the establishment’s response was simple: ‘We have a court order, and we’re going to comply,’” McLendon said in a statement obtained by Fox News Digital. “Now, suddenly, many of those same voices have gone completely silent.”

Asked for his view on the matter, U.S. Rep. Mike Ezell, a Republican from Pascagoula, told Fox News Digital that redistricting is handled by the legislature in Jackson and that he trusts leaders there to “follow the law and do what’s best” for the state.

“My focus remains on serving the people of South Mississippi and fighting for our conservative values in Congress,” Ezell said.

Senate Minority Leader Derrick Simmons, D-Greenville and House Minority Leader Robert Johnson III did not respond to requests for comment.

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With hopes of a 4-0 Mississippi map before the midterms dashed, House Speaker Mike Johnson in neighboring Louisiana will have one fewer likely pickup as he battles a series of Republican retirements and independent voter malaise toward Trump in the effort to keep the House red.

Fox News reached out to the White House for comment.