[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"$fNOrbNxZwGTH93dK4dggk7oTlmdntQBWmDneNBCZMe-o":3,"$fTLRM5iIpnjkmlgNqna1QVjDNtuk-vGgJtdrArCS8nDg":12},{"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},29770,"Horace McCoy","H",6,null,"horace-mccoy",[],{"quotes":13,"pagination":155},[14,22,44,91,113,128],{"id":15,"quote_text":16,"author_id":5,"source_id":8,"has_image":17,"author":18,"source":19,"quote_tag":20,"commentary":21},3080976,"It’s peculiar to me,′ she said, ’that everybody pays so much attention to living and so little to dying. Why are these high-powered scientists always screwing around trying to prolong life instead of finding pleasant ways to end it? There must be a hell of a lot of people in the world like me – who want to die but haven’t got the guts.",false,{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[],"**The Backstory**\nHorace McCoy's novel \"Kings Go forth\" (1938) reflects the tumultuous era it was written in - the Great Depression and the lead-up to World War II. The quote is a poignant expression of societal anxiety and disillusionment, echoing the existential crises faced by many during this period.\n\n**The Hidden Insight**\nMcCoy's protagonist reveals a paradoxical attitude toward death: while desiring an end to life due to personal suffering or despair, she lacks the courage (or possibly even interest) in actively pursuing it. This ambivalence highlights the complex human relationship with mortality - simultaneously fearing and avoiding it, yet sometimes also romanticizing its escape.\n\n**How to Use This**\nIn today's high-pressure professional environments, individuals may benefit from adopting a more nuanced approach to productivity and burnout prevention: acknowledging that prolonged life is not always synonymous with continued vitality or meaning. By recognizing the potential for \"living\" to become an avoidance of dying, professionals can reevaluate their priorities and focus on creating lives with purpose and acceptance of mortality's inevitability.",{"id":23,"quote_text":24,"author_id":5,"source_id":25,"has_image":17,"author":26,"source":27,"quote_tag":28,"commentary":9},295125,"Customers at a marathon do not have to be prepared for their excitement. When anything happens they get excited all at once. In that respect a marathon dance is like a bullfight.",2,{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[29,34,39],{"id":30,"tag":31},1795959,{"id":32,"tag_name":33},520,"dance",{"id":35,"tag":36},1795961,{"id":37,"tag_name":38},27431,"noir",{"id":40,"tag":41},1795962,{"id":42,"tag_name":43},31288,"noir-fiction",{"id":45,"quote_text":46,"author_id":5,"source_id":25,"has_image":17,"author":47,"source":48,"quote_tag":49,"commentary":90},145600,"It's peculiar to me,' she said, 'that everybody pays so much attention to living and so little to dying. Why are these high-powered scientists always screwing around trying to prolong life instead of finding pleasant ways to end it? There must be a hell of a lot of people in the world like me--who want to die but haven't got the guts.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[50,55,60,65,70,75,80,85],{"id":51,"tag":52},940656,{"id":53,"tag_name":54},122,"suicide",{"id":56,"tag":57},940654,{"id":58,"tag_name":59},352,"science",{"id":61,"tag":62},940651,{"id":63,"tag_name":64},599,"living",{"id":66,"tag":67},940655,{"id":68,"tag_name":69},636,"scientists",{"id":71,"tag":72},940648,{"id":73,"tag_name":74},4424,"dying",{"id":76,"tag":77},940652,{"id":78,"tag_name":79},10858,"pleasant",{"id":81,"tag":82},940650,{"id":83,"tag_name":84},12586,"guts",{"id":86,"tag":87},940649,{"id":88,"tag_name":89},55675,"euthanasia","**The Backstory**\nThis poignant quote is from Horace McCoy's 1936 novel \"They Shoot Horses, Don't They?\", set amidst the Great Depression in California's dance marathons. The protagonist's statement reflects the desperation and disillusionment of the era, where people were forced to endure unimaginable hardships and humiliation for meager rewards.\n\n**The Hidden Insight**\nMcCoy is highlighting a paradoxical aspect of human nature: our obsessive focus on prolonging life often stems from an avoidance of confronting death itself. By doing so, we overlook the potential value of a peaceful exit, prioritizing instead the struggle to extend an existence fraught with suffering.\n\n**How to Use This**\nIn applying this mindset today, consider that sometimes it's not about beating back adversity, but rather acknowledging when the cost of survival has become too high. Recognize when it's time to reevaluate your priorities and seek a more serene conclusion, just as McCoy's protagonist wishes for a \"pleasant way to end it.\"",{"id":92,"quote_text":93,"author_id":5,"source_id":25,"has_image":17,"author":94,"source":95,"quote_tag":96,"commentary":9},143383,"This was one day Gloria had no reason to be morbid, but she was more morbid than ever.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[97,102,107,110],{"id":98,"tag":99},926767,{"id":100,"tag_name":101},120,"depression",{"id":103,"tag":104},926768,{"id":105,"tag_name":106},18388,"morbid",{"id":108,"tag":109},926769,{"id":37,"tag_name":38},{"id":111,"tag":112},926770,{"id":42,"tag_name":43},{"id":114,"quote_text":115,"author_id":5,"source_id":25,"has_image":17,"author":116,"source":117,"quote_tag":118,"commentary":9},143380,"Isn’t there something I can talk about that won’t remind you that you wish you were dead?’ I asked.‘No,’ she said.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[119,122,125],{"id":120,"tag":121},926753,{"id":100,"tag_name":101},{"id":123,"tag":124},926755,{"id":37,"tag_name":38},{"id":126,"tag":127},926756,{"id":42,"tag_name":43},{"id":129,"quote_text":130,"author_id":5,"source_id":25,"has_image":17,"author":131,"source":132,"quote_tag":133,"commentary":9},143378,"Let’s go sit and hate a bunch of people.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[134,137,142,147,150],{"id":135,"tag":136},926739,{"id":100,"tag_name":101},{"id":138,"tag":139},926741,{"id":140,"tag_name":141},489,"hate",{"id":143,"tag":144},926738,{"id":145,"tag_name":146},4217,"crime",{"id":148,"tag":149},926742,{"id":37,"tag_name":38},{"id":151,"tag":152},926740,{"id":153,"tag_name":154},55737,"great-depression",{"currentPage":156,"totalPages":156,"totalItems":8,"itemsPerPage":157},1,10]