Jason McElwain, the author of the book, The Game of My Life, was born with autism. He didn't talk until he was five years old. He had few social skills and didn't make friends easily. In high school, he found his love - basketball. However, Jason was too short to make the team because he was only 5 feet 6 inches tall. He became the team manager instead of playing. He took care of the equipment and made sure the players had everything they needed such as towels and water bottles. Jason did his job happily.

In February 2006, during Jason's last year of high school, the coach decided to give Jason a chance to actually play in the game. It was the last home game of the season and there were only four minutes left in the game.