[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"$fPMKPYeTWhgTCWJWLcwYLmfpzxwsk4WP0ne2KERuGLZI":3,"$fBjHHKToH2270sG0xBhe2EbmwhS2w4aeP9QCCQQ436bI":12},{"author":4,"tags":11},{"author_id":5,"author_name":6,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"bio":9,"short_bio":9,"slug":10,"image_url":9},55308,"Michael Koryta","M",45,null,"michael-koryta",[],{"quotes":13,"pagination":78},[14,22,30,36,42,48,54,60,66,72],{"id":15,"quote_text":16,"author_id":5,"source_id":17,"has_image":18,"author":19,"source":20,"quote_tag":21,"commentary":9},3834347,"I think if you looked at the kind of ebb and flow of supernatural fiction and horror fiction, it does seem to be more popular in times when we're hammered over the head daily with threats from all angles, very real threats.",7,false,{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[],{"id":23,"quote_text":24,"author_id":5,"source_id":25,"has_image":18,"author":26,"source":27,"quote_tag":28,"commentary":29},3284801,"He kept the gun in his lap as he drove, and he prayed. It was the strangest prayer he’d ever offered. He asked for strength to do the wrong thing, and then forgiveness for doing it.",6,{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[],"**The Backstory**\nMichael Koryta, an American author known for his dark and suspenseful novels, penned this haunting quote in one of his novels. The era of Koryta's life relevant to this sentiment was marked by his exploration of the human condition, often delving into themes of morality, redemption, and the complexities of human nature. This quote likely emerged from a narrative where the protagonist is faced with a difficult decision, one that requires him to confront the darker aspects of himself.\n\n**The Hidden Insight**\nThe hidden insight here is that true strength often lies not in doing the right thing, but in acknowledging and accepting the possibility of doing the wrong thing. Koryta's protagonist is not praying for the moral high ground but for the courage to act against his better judgment, revealing a profound understanding of human nature's capacity for both good and evil.\n\n**How to Use This**\nIn applying this mindset to modern life, consider that sometimes the most courageous act is not in taking the easy, moral path, but in acknowledging the complexity of a situation and the potential for personal compromise. This requires a willingness to confront the darker aspects of your own nature and to make decisions that may not align with your idealized self, but rather with the harsh realities of the situation.",{"id":31,"quote_text":32,"author_id":5,"source_id":25,"has_image":18,"author":33,"source":34,"quote_tag":35,"commentary":9},3284797,"An honorable quality.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[],{"id":37,"quote_text":38,"author_id":5,"source_id":25,"has_image":18,"author":39,"source":40,"quote_tag":41,"commentary":9},3284794,"To weep not for the way things had once been but for the way things had been supposed to go and did not. People believed that they were haunted by bad memories, but that wasn’t the truth. The most sinister hauntings were from unrealized futures.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[],{"id":43,"quote_text":44,"author_id":5,"source_id":25,"has_image":18,"author":45,"source":46,"quote_tag":47,"commentary":9},3284792,"Keep your voice down, man. People in this neighborhood hear Pittsburgh, they turn violent. It’s the home of the Steelers, you know.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[],{"id":49,"quote_text":50,"author_id":5,"source_id":25,"has_image":18,"author":51,"source":52,"quote_tag":53,"commentary":9},3284789,"You’re too worried about figuring out what you can believe about all of this, and then figuring out how to control it. That’s how most people approach their lives. Way I feel, though, after a lot of years of living? Not much of what matters in the world is under your control. You don’t dictate, you adapt. That’s all. So stop trying to control this, and start trying to listen to what it’s telling you.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[],{"id":55,"quote_text":56,"author_id":5,"source_id":25,"has_image":18,"author":57,"source":58,"quote_tag":59,"commentary":9},3284786,"So much water. It just went on and on and on, a sight that squeezed the soul. He felt so damn small out here. And that felt good. Maybe that was strange, but it felt good. He was insignificant. The world was too big to care about his decisions. There was no weight here, no burden.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[],{"id":61,"quote_text":62,"author_id":5,"source_id":25,"has_image":18,"author":63,"source":64,"quote_tag":65,"commentary":9},3284784,"It was all about size now: the big ran the world on the sweat of the small, and if the big faltered for any reason, the small were the first to go.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[],{"id":67,"quote_text":68,"author_id":5,"source_id":25,"has_image":18,"author":69,"source":70,"quote_tag":71,"commentary":9},3284782,"There are different layers of honesty – the truth of what you said and the truth of what was in your heart when you spoke the words.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[],{"id":73,"quote_text":74,"author_id":5,"source_id":25,"has_image":18,"author":75,"source":76,"quote_tag":77,"commentary":9},3284777,"You have bound us, Kimble imagined saying, to an evil world. Where’s the love in that? And in that scenario, God always answered, Temporarily bound you, yes. Now, during your time in that evil world, did you do anything to help?",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[],{"currentPage":79,"totalPages":80,"totalItems":8,"itemsPerPage":81},1,5,10]