Open Doors: A Tribute to Dr. Kester Crosse

Some books you read. Some books you live your way into long before the first page is printed. On July 23, 2026, at the Wilmington Public Library in Wilmington, Delaware, I watched my friend of more than 35 years, Dr. Kester Irwin Hanley Crosse II, close a circle that started on a college campus in Virginia in the early 1990s. He didn't just release a book. He became a #1 Amazon Bestselling author.

The book is Open Doors: The Young Professional's Guide to Mastering Emotional Intelligence, Communication, and Networking to Turn Talent Into Career Success. I need you to read it — but first, let me tell you why it matters, and why the man behind it is exactly who he says he is.

The earring, the flick, and the lesson I never forgot

I met Kester at Hampton University — our "Home by the Sea" — where we were both students between 1988 and 1992. One afternoon, we walked out of a class together. I had an earring in. Kester looked at it, pointed, and flicked it. I don't remember the exact words, but I have never forgotten what he meant: "You need to get serious." I took the earring out, and I started my journey of taking a medical career seriously.

At the reading, Kester's best friend and the evening's moderator, Rick Deadwyler, said out loud what I'd felt for years — that Kester had been mentally writing this book long before he ever became a doctor. The presence, the standards, the quiet way he coaches people toward their better selves. It was always in him. Open Doors is simply the moment he put it on paper for the rest of the world.

"Your future is not waiting on permission. It's waiting on preparation." — Dr. Kester Crosse

What Open Doors is actually about

This is not a soft, feel-good book you read once and shelve. As the cover says: "Talent may open the first door — but people skills determine how far you go." Drawing on decades in medicine, leadership, and mentorship, Dr. Crosse reveals what schools rarely teach: how emotional intelligence, presence, work ethic, and communication quietly determine who gets trusted, chosen, and promoted. Readers learn to build confidence in any room, communicate with clarity and purpose, turn everyday conversations into opportunities, and translate talent into real advancement.

One chapter, "Black Reality: Why This Matters Even More," is honest about something real — Black students and young professionals are often judged faster and more harshly. His answer isn't bitterness; it's strategy: presence protects you, awareness protects you, discipline protects you.

The man behind the book

Dr. Kester Irwin Hanley Crosse II, MD is a board-certified gastroenterologist, healthcare executive, mentor, and speaker — a graduate of Hampton University and the University of Maryland School of Medicine, and a proud member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. You can learn more at drcrosseauthor.com.

Love to the family that built him

Dr. Kisa Shannon Crosse, Kester's wife, is accomplished in her own right and a proud member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. She is far more than "the author's wife" — a partner in excellence whose grace and strength filled that room. Rick Deadwyler, Kester's best friend since childhood and a member of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc., wrote the book's foreword and moderated the evening.

Two fathers, two sons, one stage

The most emotional moment of the night belonged to the elders. The fathers of both Kester and Rick were invited on stage — two men who raised two Delaware sons into the men we celebrated that evening. The conversation turned to love, growth, and the importance of instilling values in children. There were tears. There was laughter. There was that deep, quiet pride only a father who did the work can feel.

And to those two fathers — thank you. What we witnessed on that stage did not begin with any degree, title, or accomplishment these men have earned; it began with you. Neither of you came expecting the spotlight. You were surprised, invited up by your own sons, and the look on your faces in that moment said everything a speech never could. For decades you did the quiet, faithful, unglamorous work of raising boys into men of character, discipline, and heart — and on this night your sons made sure the whole room knew exactly where it started. Kester and Rick are your living testimony. We see you, we honor you, and we love you.

One Divine Nine family

Kester is Kappa Alpha Psi. Rick is Omega Psi Phi. Kisa is Alpha Kappa Alpha. I am a proud member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. Different letters, one Divine Nine family, one shared commitment: service, scholarship, and lifting as we climb. This book didn't come out of nowhere — it came out of a culture of excellence and accountability, the same culture that made a young man flick his friend's earring and say, without saying it, "Be more."

Read it, then hand it to someone who needs it

If you have a young person in your life — a student, an athlete, a recent grad, a first-generation professional — Open Doors is the mentor you can put in their hands today. Get your copy on Amazon: Open Doors by Dr. Kester Crosse.

Kester, congratulations, my friend. Thirty-five years ago you told me to get serious. I did. Now you've written the book that tells a whole generation how to do the same.