Book excerpt: I HAD IT ALL BUT IT MEANT NOTHING BECAUSE IT ALMOST KILLED ME. An up-close portrait of one of the most prolific defensive players in NCAA history and a life almost unraveled by football- a memoir of true inspiration. The Game That Almost Broke Me is the inspirational story of Tavarski Wallace, an ambitious player in the game of achieving a spot in the NFL, and a resilient player in the turbulent, challenging, and sometimes unfair game of life. The intriguing evolution of Taz Wallace is remarkable in this book-long journey, which is marked by milestones of overcoming adversity - from resolving struggles academically, supporting his hard-working single mother, to ultimately managing the unforgiving politics of professional football, Taz Wallace's story is uplifting and inspiring. From modest beginnings in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, Taz documents a series of key relationships which shaped him as an individual and helped fuel his dreams of becoming a linebacker in the NFL. With unrelenting persistence every step of the way, the experiences, failures, and surprising successes of Taz in The Game That Almost Broke Me prove how the American Dream can dramatically transform with time, and may even become something entirely different in the end.