- Utah Gov. Spencer Cox's book "Off Ramp" will be released on Sept. 8, near the anniversary of Charlie Kirk's assassination.
- The book offers a guide to depolarization, emphasizing Cox's "disagree better" slogan.
- Cox remains hopeful about political change, citing reduced social media use and renewed faith.
SALT LAKE CITY — Utah Gov. Spencer Cox's first book, "Off Ramp: How to be a Peacemaker in an Age of Contempt," will be available on Sep. 8.
The release comes just before the one-year anniversary of the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk in Utah.
The apparently politically motivated murder was one of the most high profile and publicly viewed killings in American history.
It also thrust Utah's governor — who had spent years warning against violent polarization — into the national spotlight.
Cox received praise from around the country, across the aisle, and even from President Donald Trump, for his remarks.
The governor called on Americans to unify and to ignore "conflict engineers," and he pled with young people to choose a different path.
At the time, Cox told the Deseret News he hoped the tragedy would be "a catalyst to help us find that off ramp that we desperately need."
Now the governor is presenting a road map.
The book is billed as a "practical guide to depolarization," centered around Cox's well-known slogan of "disagree better."
Cox feeling hopeful
At a news conference on Thursday, Cox said he had been waking up at 4 a.m. to write so it wouldn't take away from his duties.
He was motivated, he said, by how desperate the "vast majority of people" are for something to change in U.S. politics.
The book won't solve polarization, Cox said. But he said it will add momentum to a shift he believes is already underway.
"I've been surprisingly hopeful about what's changing in our country," Cox said. "I feel like that pendulum is starting to swing back a little bit."
While he's not sure if things have gotten better since Kirk's death, Cox said he thinks more people are waking up to the need to de-escalate.
In addition to calling for respectful debate, Cox has been a leading voice on the benefits of religion and the harms of social media.
Cox sees signs people are returning to faith and rejecting algorithms. Surveys conducted over the past year have found that:
- 50% of adults said they actively limited their social media use in 2025.
- 41% said they reduced screen time, and 16% quit one social media platform.
- The decline in Americans identifying as Christians continued to hold steady.
- Search traffic spiked around "church near me," "how to pray" and Bible sales.
"I do feel like it's waning, that people are anxious and more people want to do better," Cox said. "They're just exhausted from what's happening with politics."
'Disagree Better'
As chair of the National Governors Association, Cox led the initiative to model healthy dialogue between opposing parties.
He debuted a Disagree Better nonprofit in the aftermath of Kirk's death, convening depolarization groups from across the country.
Around the time he launched "Disagree Better" in 2023, Cox began working on a book, he revealed at a November press conference.
"It's about where we are as a country and just my concerns around the polarization that we've been seeing," he said.
When asked whether the book deal with Penguin Press foreshadowed a presidential run, Cox insisted, "This is not that."
"I have no interest in running for president," Cox said. "This is just something that is just so important to me."
"It's something I believe in."
