Cory Allen grew up in rural western Pennsylvania before a divorce between his parents moved the family to a conservative suburb of Richmond, Virginia. He got his first job at fifteen at a family restaurant and bar. He soon found his voice and love for music and took steps to become a performer, even traveling to Nashville, TN to record in a studio. He ended up in the U.S. Air Force, which led to a career in local law enforcement. However, this meant hiding his sexual orientation.
In 2009, Cory quietly married his first boyfriend and came out to his family. He was later hired by the U.S. Secret Service as a Special Agent and sent to Miami, FL, working high-level protective assignments and criminal investigations. He and his husband relocated to Washington, D.C., but extensive Secret Service work weakened the relationship. In 2019 at the pinnacle of his career, he left the Secret Service and everything he knew on the east coast to restart his life in California and begin the process of finally being his own person.
Cory continues to reside in California with his partner where they are plotting their way into parenthood.
Cory Allen’s recently released title Breaking Free: A Saga of Self-Discovery by a Gay Secret Service Agent is the first book released from a gay federal agent in the United States in 30 years, and the first ever from a Secret Service Agent.
Readers and reviewers are raving about Breaking Free: “I stood in my kitchen and read the entire book in one night. I read his last words written with a deep breath. I closed the book and my eyes as I shed a tear, said I was sorry for the world we live in, and said a prayer for his chapters left unwritten.”
Cory Allen served as a closeted police officer in a para-military world for years. He went federal, hoping for more protections as a gay man. In the Secret Service, he took on high-level protective assignments worldwide, including guarding U.S. presidents. He was the first gay agent to demand equal rights for his husband following the SCOTUS rulings.
Breaking Free: A Saga of Self-Discovery by a Gay Secret Service Agent is a deeply personal, candid, and
vulnerable dive into the life of a gay man navigating law enforcement, government, and his turbulent love life. A Secret Service Agent in the Obama era, he cracks open themes of identity, gay marriage, discrimination, love, sex, and finding peace and balance.
Released by NFB Publishing out of Buffalo, NY in March 2023, the book is carried by all major outlets including Amazon. Breaking Free is also available at OuttoProtect.org, a non-profit educating law enforcement on the needs of their LGBTQ+ citizenry and empowering LGBTQ+ officers; and by IEFPA.org, the International EMS and FF Pride Alliance.
Email coryallenbooks@gmail.com to book Cory for an interview. You can also connect with Cory on Facebook, Instagram, his personal Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok.