The book describes a 2009 boating accident that Schuyler survived while his three friends, including NFL players Marquis Cooper and Corey Smith, died.

[1][2] Not Without Hope describes a 2009 boating accident that took the lives of NFL players Marquis Cooper, Corey Smith and Schuyler's best friend Will Bleakley.

When Cooper tried to thrust the boat forward in an attempt to dislodge the anchor, the vessel became submerged and capsized, tossing the men overboard.

On March 25, 2009, a report was released based on a Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission investigation into the capsizing: it included interviews with Schuyler and an inspection of the boat.

After the project was tied up at Relativity Media for four years, as a result of the company's 2015 bankruptcy, 36films and its founder Michael Cuccolo acquired the rights to produce the survival drama.