51 pages • 1-hour read
What in the World?!: A Southern Woman's Guide to Laughing at Life's Unexpected Curveballs and Beautiful Blessings
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Chapters 16-18Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of illness.
Chapter 16 Summary: “A Witw?! Christmas Miracle”
In February of 2020, Morgan went to Florida for a girls’ weekend with her sister and youngest daughter, who was turning 21. They were transferring planes home in Atlanta when Chuck called to tell them that Lucille had a stroke. In tears, the women rerouted their flight to Nashville, where Lucille was at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
Emergency surgery had stopped the stroke, and Lucille was sent home to recover. She had to use a walker to get around, but she seemed to be recovering well. However, fluid began pooling in the back of her brain, and she woke up from a second surgery with quadruple vision. She could no longer walk or swallow. She stayed in the hospital for weeks recovering, but she never complained once.
Lucille was released from the hospital just as the COVID-19 pandemic was gathering momentum. Morgan’s tour was postponed, but her disappointment was mixed with the relief that she could be home to care for her mother. In October of 2020, Morgan got sick with COVID, but as soon as she tested negative, she was back to help at her parents’ house.
In December, Lucille was admitted to the hospital again. The hospital still had strict restrictions on visitors due to the pandemic, so Morgan was the only one who could stay with her mother. Lucile was barely able to speak, but Morgan understood everything she said and could translate for the nurses and doctors. Despite the circumstances, Morgan and Lucille had fun, and Morgan cherished the time with her mother.
Shortly before Christmas, Lucille had another episode and had to be put back on a feeding tube. Morale was low for everyone. One night, Beth, Morgan, and their father were in the hospital parking lot. Suddenly, a strange woman came up to them and pointed out the Christmas Star in the night sky. They looked up to see it, and by the time they turned around again, the woman had gone without a trace. Morgan later learned that it was the first time in 800 years that the Star of Bethlehem had been visible, and she is certain the woman was an angel sent by God to her family in their time of need. This experience helped Morgan find the strength to keep going and be strong for her mother.
During the pandemic, Morgan thought her comedy career would end. However, she found unexpected joy and connection with others by posting videos online, talking about recipes, and caring for her parents. Many people found comfort in these videos, and they made Morgan feel less isolated.
Chapter 17 Summary: “Behind Every Successful Woman Is a Man in Shock”
Morgan’s newfound comedy success meant some changes for her marriage, and she muses that it would be helpful “to check back in” with postmarital counseling after decades together (206).
Chuck was a man who needed to be in charge, but Morgan’s sudden fame forced him to adopt a new way of thinking. Chuck subscribed to traditional, conservative gender roles, and his ego was “wounded” by his wife’s success. Morgan’s success also meant a new source of income for the family, and this was also a difficult adjustment for the frugal Chuck. Now that she had her own money, Morgan wanted to splurge a little, maybe room service if she stayed in a hotel. Chuck worried that Morgan would be irresponsible with her influx of cash, but over the years, she had adopted some of his frugality.
Nevertheless, fun was important to Morgan, and she wanted to spend some of her money on a new lake house, a pontoon boat, and a camper so that she could have fun summers with her grandchildren. Chuck thought spending on fun things was silly and superfluous.
After all their years together, Chuck and Morgan still have mismatched sex drives, but Morgan’s menopause has made their evening routine even more complicated. She often struggles to sleep and so gets angry if Chuck tries to initiate sex right before she drifts off. The situation is further complicated by Morgan’s hot flashes and Chuck’s tendency to stay up late. Worried about sleep deprivation, Morgan’s nurse practitioner suggested they start sleeping in separate bedrooms.
After 30 years of marriage, Morgan still wasn’t privy to Chuck’s emotions. Once, when Morgan was leaving for a show, Chuck opened up just the smallest amount, worrying that she didn’t “need [him] anymore” (213). Although this was a very small admission of vulnerability, it surprised Morgan and helped her be more patient with her husband, who, in turn, began to include Morgan in financial decisions, moving their relationship closer to a partnership.
Chapter 18 Summary: “The Greatest Witw?! Experience Yet”
Out of all her life experiences and the things she anticipated would bring her fulfillment, having grandchildren was the best thing to happen to Morgan. Her son, Charlie, and his wife, Maggie, had their first baby during the COVID-19 pandemic. At first, Charlie and Mary discussed “boundaries” with the grandparents, but soon, the stress of life with a newborn kicked in, and they called Chuck and Morgan for help. Now, both she and Chuck are deeply involved in their grandson’s life. When raising her own children, Morgan tried to make sure they wouldn’t get spoiled, but with her grandson, she gives him anything he wants immediately.
Morgan is proud of all her children. She spent her life dreaming of a career in comedy, but motherhood still means more to her. Now, even if her comedy career ends, her life will still be “full” because of her beautiful family. For years, comedy and her family life were “intertwined.” Her children provided her with material for her act, and once they were grown up, God gave her opportunities to expand her career. Morgan says she strives to find the “blessing in everything” (219). Even though she had her share of setbacks and hard times, she knows that each of these happened for a reason and taught her something important. She knows that all those “what in the world?” moments will eventually turn into something good, and even if they don’t, she will “figure out a way to look back at what happened and laugh” (220).
Chapters 16-18 Analysis
In the final chapters of What in the World?!, Morgan offers closing thoughts on how her success has changed and reshaped her life in some ways but left her priorities unchanged in others.
Morgan’s success in comedy led to significant shifts in her relationship dynamic with Chuck, completing the narrative’s exploration of Subverting Gender Roles in Southern Culture. For decades, they both played their “roles,” but when Morgan’s career shifted, their marriage had to shift along with it. For Chuck, who was used to being “in control of himself and the situation,” the reality that his wife was “a little famous” and bringing in a significant income was difficult to adjust to (206). Chuck’s identity was rooted in providing for his family, so Morgan’s success threatened and “shocked” him, leaving him feeling insecure and worried that his wife no longer needed him. Although Morgan’s new income and success changed her relationship dynamic to a certain degree, other things stayed the same, such as Chuck’s insistence on saving money. With her new cash flow, Morgan was eager to prioritize things she wanted in life, like fun. Nothing extravagant, just a house on a lake, a boat, and a camper to give her grandchildren sun summer memories. Chuck, however, remained as frugal as ever, insisting that spending money on fun was frivolous and refused to budge on the topic. Morgan, however, was willing to be patient and give Chuck time to change, understanding that a major shift to their power dynamic was difficult for him and demonstrating the greater understanding that developed between them through the years.
There is a marked change of tone in the final chapters as Morgan deals with the seriousness of her mother’s illness and the thought of losing Lucille, and these circumstances highlight Morgan’s understanding of The Role of Faith in Everyday Struggles. Despite her success, Morgan’s commitment to her family remains absolute, which helped her to weather further disappointment when her tour was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. By the time her comedy career took off, Morgan was well-versed in “the wisdom and grace of unanswered prayers” (151), and she was relieved that postponing the tour would allow her to be home and support her parents through her mother’s health crisis. After all the ups and downs of her career, she trusted that God wanted her to be in show business and would give her another opportunity when the time was right. In the meantime, postponing her tour gave Morgan the chance to focus on her family. Even within the pandemic, however, there were ways for Morgan to keep her career moving forward, and she found unexpected joy and community in filming videos talking about recipes and other aspects of her life and posting them online.
Morgan closes with a clear emphasis on the importance of family over wealth and fame and a continuing commitment to Building Resilience Through Humor. Not getting famous until later in life helped Morgan to keep her priorities clear and understand what is really important. She is adamant that her children and grandchildren are the greatest blessings of her life, and no matter what happens with her comedy career, she will always “have a full life because of [her] family” (219). She knows that every single thing that happened to her, even the hard things, was a blessing because they brought her to where she is today, demonstrating how her attitude of approaching life with openness and humor has allowed her to become stronger and more resilient.
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