For a handful of wonderful years at the Houston Chronicle, I shared a cubicle with photojournalist Smiley Pool. I have worked with so many incredible photographers but Smiley is my favorite. And he is the best. Smiley always had the best stories from his assignments over the years. One he often spoke of was a photo assignment he got in 1996 to travel with Dr. Mark Kline to Romania, the inspiration for which Kline and and others would eventually launch the Baylor International Pediatric AIDS Initiative.

Long after the newspapers moved on from long-form stories and projects of AIDS coverage, Smiley stayed with the story. Smiley has spent decades — yes, decades — on multiple continents photographing the stories of those who faced the AIDS crisis head on. You can read more about his journey in this article by my friend Sam Byrd.

One evening in our cubicle, as he was editing photos, he said, “I guess at some point, this should probably be a book. Would you be interested in designing it?” Of course my answer was yes. When that call came in 2019, I was thrilled the world would get to experience this story.

Through the White Door is a book that belongs on every coffee table. Paired with Smiley’s beautiful photographs is the emotionally raw text by the gifted and wonderful Jessica Johns Pool. On more than one occasion my eyes pooled with tears as I put the words and photos together. Her symphonic prose is an unsung star of this book.

I would ask you to consider ordering a copy for you or a friend. It’s a stunning work of art. All profits from the book go to HIV/AIDS charities. With proposed cuts to HIV/AIDS funding in the U.S. and to organizations who help fight the disease, abroad, this is an opportunity to help.