The realities of success

With a career spanning more than three decades, platinum-selling singer/songwriter and musician, Michael W. Smith is no stranger to the radical highs and lows that come with fame and fortune.

Since the early 1980s the 61-year-old American has won numerous awards including three Grammys, and counts Bono and George W. Bush as some of his closest friends. He performed at the Billy Graham memorial service earlier this year.

However, a number of challenges in his life almost caused him to throw in the towel last year after 35 years in the music business:

“I talked with my team at the beginning of 2017 and told them I’m not going to do another record unless I can write some stuff that really excites me. I was still grieving over my father who died in 2015 after suffering from dementia. The landscape changed in my life and I couldn’t write anything.

“I thought it would be two or three more years before I did any recording at all if I ever did record ever again.”

Fortunately, th...