[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"$f_WHSn11dqTZQkSZHqI-ezMUuY2GYKpKaV1tqys4ZhBg":3,"$fkJN3GG-BMQCv9HRXYuQ5rBlvQOTDj5AQcrfOTLainaY":24},{"author":4,"tags":11},{"author_id":5,"author_name":6,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"bio":9,"short_bio":9,"bio_jsonld":9,"slug":10,"image_url":9},3654,"Courtney Milan","C",226,null,"courtney-milan",[12,16,20],{"tag_id":13,"tag_name":14,"tag_count":15},25,"love",13,{"tag_id":17,"tag_name":18,"tag_count":19},211,"romance",8,{"tag_id":21,"tag_name":22,"tag_count":23},3,"humor",6,{"quotes":25,"pagination":89},[26,34,40,46,52,58,64,71,77,83],{"id":27,"quote_text":28,"author_id":5,"source_id":23,"has_image":29,"author":30,"source":31,"quote_tag":32,"commentary":33},2947223,"What can I say? I have a thing for women who carry heavy books and know how to use them.",false,{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[],"**The Backstory**\nThis quote is from Courtney Milan's 2009 novel, \"The Sum of All Kisses\", a historical romance set in the early 19th century English countryside. At that time, women's roles were rigidly defined by society, limiting their access to education and intellectual pursuits. The author was likely drawing upon her own fascination with the constraints placed on women during this era.\n\n**The Hidden Insight**\nOn the surface, the quote appears to be a charming anecdote about the author's preferences in women. However, beneath this facade lies a commentary on the societal expectations of women as caregivers and nurturers. The phrase \"know how to use them\" subverts these expectations by suggesting that true intelligence and agency lie not just in book knowledge but in practical application – a notion at odds with the traditional feminine ideal.\n\n**How to Use This**\nIn today's professional landscape, this mindset can be applied by embracing a holistic approach to work. Rather than solely focusing on accumulating credentials or book smarts, individuals should strive to develop the skills and judgment to effectively apply their knowledge in real-world situations – a quality equally valuable for leaders and creatives alike.",{"id":35,"quote_text":36,"author_id":5,"source_id":23,"has_image":29,"author":37,"source":38,"quote_tag":39,"commentary":9},2947222,"Sometimes she was absentminded. Sometimes it was far better to be absent from reality than present for its harshest truths.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[],{"id":41,"quote_text":42,"author_id":5,"source_id":23,"has_image":29,"author":43,"source":44,"quote_tag":45,"commentary":9},2947220,"It’s one thing to flirt with someone you’ve never met. But these? These are actual feelings. I’m not sure what they mean or what to do with them.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[],{"id":47,"quote_text":48,"author_id":5,"source_id":23,"has_image":29,"author":49,"source":50,"quote_tag":51,"commentary":9},2947219,"Sir Mark Turner,” he said. “I speak with the tongues of a thousand angels. Butterflies follow me wherever I go. Birds sing when I take a breath.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[],{"id":53,"quote_text":54,"author_id":5,"source_id":23,"has_image":29,"author":55,"source":56,"quote_tag":57,"commentary":9},2947216,"The road to hell was surely paved with cacao.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[],{"id":59,"quote_text":60,"author_id":5,"source_id":23,"has_image":29,"author":61,"source":62,"quote_tag":63,"commentary":9},2947214,"There were no knights, no castles, no magic. But there was laughter, and there was love, and while Judith still had breath in her body, she would make sure they had enough. Her life was already its own once upon a time. There was enough joy in the story, enough sorrow mixed in. It might not be the sort of tale that mothers told their children but it was still a good one. Not everything hurt. It would all turn out.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[],{"id":65,"quote_text":66,"author_id":5,"source_id":23,"has_image":29,"author":67,"source":68,"quote_tag":69,"commentary":70},2947213,"She wanted him to be right. She needed him to be wrong. And while that sounded as if she were confused, confusion implied uncertainty. And Margaret was dead certain that he was both the last man on earth that she should kiss, and the only one she dreamed of holding.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[],"**The Backstory**\nCourtney Milan's words evoke a poignant moment from her novel, where Margaret grapples with conflicting desires and needs. The context is one of romantic longing and internal conflict, set against the backdrop of societal expectations that governed relationships during the 19th century.\n\n**The Hidden Insight**\nHere, Milan masterfully captures the essence of a psychological paradox: our need for control often coexists with an equally strong desire to surrender. Margaret's predicament reveals how this tension can manifest in relationships, where being \"right\" might mean maintaining power and agency, yet simultaneously wanting someone to be \"wrong\" implies a surrendering of control.\n\n**How to Use This**\nIn modern professional or personal contexts, recognizing this paradox can empower individuals to acknowledge and navigate their own conflicting desires. By acknowledging the tension between needing control and wanting to surrender, one can make more intentional decisions about how to balance power dynamics in relationships, whether romantic or professional.",{"id":72,"quote_text":73,"author_id":5,"source_id":23,"has_image":29,"author":74,"source":75,"quote_tag":76,"commentary":9},2947212,"I think that’s when I understood that you only ruined my life because my life needed ruining. Because the life you rejected demanded that I spend all my time telling my daughter to be less and my son to be more.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[],{"id":78,"quote_text":79,"author_id":5,"source_id":23,"has_image":29,"author":80,"source":81,"quote_tag":82,"commentary":9},2947211,"If I had married, there is much I would not have learned of myself. This has been hard and painful and horrible. But I’ve learned that I’m stronger than hard, better than pain, and that with enough luck, horrible can go away.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[],{"id":84,"quote_text":85,"author_id":5,"source_id":23,"has_image":29,"author":86,"source":87,"quote_tag":88,"commentary":9},2947208,"Men touch their horses to calm them,” she said distantly. “They caress their falcons to remind them that they are bound. Touch smacks of ownership, and I am weary of being a possession.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[],{"currentPage":90,"totalPages":91,"totalItems":8,"itemsPerPage":92},1,23,10]