about
THE PINK MARINE
The Pink Marine is the sharp, funny, and unexpectedly moving memoir, chronicling how a skinny, gay teenager from New Orleans enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps to prove he could become a man—and became one of the Few and the Proud.
Now a Netflix Original Series (Boots), the book explores identity, masculinity, and belonging with biting wit and disarming honesty.
When Greg Cope White’s best friend tells him he is spending his summer in Marine Corps boot camp, all Greg hears is “summer” and “camp.”
Greg’s chaotic childhood hasn’t prepared him for military life. He packs five suitcases for thirteen weeks of training. The U.S. Marines strip him of all of it, shave his head, and put a rifle in his hands. At first, he struggles to keep up – afraid that his secret will be discovered. But as the weeks go by, the desire to survive and earn the title of Marine triumphs over fear.
He learns that everyone enters the Corps feeling different – judged for the color of their skin, their weight, or their past. Some even choose boot camp over jail. This will push every man past his limit and strip away who he thinks he is. What breaks them also binds them. Nobody comes out the same. Something shifts for Greg. For everyone.
Told with disarming honesty and biting wit, The Pink Marine follows Greg and his new brothers as they navigate the brutal system of recruit training. Greg must prove he belongs – and figure out who he really is.
KIRKUS REVIEW
TV comedy writer White recalls the grueling yet confidence-building three-month Marine Corps boot camp training he endured as a still-closeted teenager.
“I learned that I had to respect myself if I wanted others to respect me.”
The author demonstrates that respect and delivers a heartening coming-of-age, inspiring memoir that displays a balanced, surprisingly reverent view of the Marine Corps and military service.
about
GREG COPE WHITE
Greg Cope White is a screenwriter, producer, author, USMC veteran and inveterate bon vivant.
Author, screenwriter, producer Greg Cope White also served six years as a U.S. Marine. He drew from those experiences to write his memoir, The Pink Marine.
His writing credits include three Netflix Original films, shows for HBO, CBS, NBC, Disney, Fox and Comedy Central. He contributes to The Huffington Post. He mentors for the Writer’s Guild Foundation’s program for military veterans on their path to write TV and film.
Greg is highly motivated about veteran’s and LGBTQ rights, patriotism, cooking, travel and storytelling.
The Pink Marine sold to Netflix as a series: BOOTS. Created by Andy Parker, Greg is a writer on the series, which streams October 2025. He also Co-Executive Produces along with EPs Jennifer Cecil, Scott Hornbacher, Rachel Davidson, Brent Miller and Norman Lear.
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Photo: High Res version of main head shot
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SHORT BIO
PRAISE & CHATTER FOR THE PINK MARINE
“While I served in the military, the Air Force was a social club compared to the Marines. I’ve known Greg White for some thirty years, and have admired him every minute throughout. That he could write as intriguing and honest a book as The Pink Marine is no surprise.”
— Norman Lear
“A great story beautifully told—surprising, funny, courageous and inspiring.”
— David Hyde-Pierce
“The Marines got a great soldier out of it. And we civilians got a great author. This is the story of how, through pure gumption, a most unlikely Marine candidate rises to the occasion to show his true colors!”
— Jane Lynch
“If you’re searching for the next great memoir, it’s arrived. Greg Cope White’s The Pink Marine is funny and relentlessly honest. If we have any reason to celebrate the imposed silence of President Clinton’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy, The Pink Marine is it. Had Greg talked back then, we wouldn’t have this book now. “
— Peter MacNicol
“Marine Corps boot camp was the toughest thing I ever did. I had to cope with being skinny, weak, and timid in a place that demanded strength, confidence, and fearlessness. But I didn’t have to cope with being gay or having to hide who I actually was. . . .The Pink Marine is a wonderful book and I’m proud to be Greg White’s fellow jarhead.”
—Jim Beaver
”Greg Cope White takes on the universal tragedy of human isolation and the fear of exposure with such humor and grace that it becomes a triumphant comedy.”
—Dylan Brody
“Greg is as inspirational as he is hilarious—I love him and I love this book!”
—Margaret Cho
”For five years, on a television show called Covert Affairs, I had the privilege of pretending to be a member of the U.S. military. For six years, in the United States Marines, my friend Greg pretended to be straight. He wins. The Pink Marine will inspire you, make you laugh, and remind you of what’s important in this life.”
—Christopher Gorham
Private Benjamin meets Full Metal Jacket. As fascinating as that description sounds, The Pink Marine goes way beyond that… A beautiful, frank, gripping and funny memoir, Greg Cope White punches you in the gut one moment and makes you bust a gut in the next. Truly one of the most honest and harrowing depictions of boot camp I’ve ever read or seen in film. And the fact that White can make you laugh at it all makes this book a true original. Wow.
—Sean Dwyer
BOOK SPECS
TITLE: The Pink Marine
AUTHOR: Greg Cope White
PUBLISHER: AboutFace Books
1st EDITION: February 2016
2nd EDITION: October 2025
PAGES: 252
HARDCOVER: $35.00
HARDCOVER ISBN: 978-0-9972857-2-7
TRADE PAPER ORIGINAL: $19.99
TRADE PAPER ISBN: 978-0-9972857-1-0
E-BOOK: $9.99
E-BOOK ISBN: 978-0-9972857-0-3
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