What in the World?!: A Southern Woman's Guide to Laughing at Life's Unexpected Curveballs and Beautiful Blessings

Published in 2024, What in the World?!: A Southern Woman’s Guide to Laughing at Life’s Unexpected Curveballs and Beautiful Blessings is a memoir by stand-up comic Leanne Morgan. Hailing from rural Tennessee, Morgan traces her life from her upbringing working in the family meat processing facility, through her boy-crazy college years, and into the ups and downs of life as a wife and mother. Through it all, Morgan had the sense that she was meant to “dazzle” and dreamed of a life in Hollywood. After decades of keeping her comedy dreams on the periphery to focus on her family, she experienced breakout success in her mid-fifties. Through humorous personal anecdotes, Morgan explores themes including Subverting Gender Roles in Southern Culture, Building Resilience Through Humor, and The Role of Faith in Everyday Struggles. 

This guide uses the 2024 Convergent Books Kindle edition of the text.

Content Warning: The source material and guide feature depictions of gender discrimination, illness, and death.

Summary

Leanne Morgan grew up in the small town of Adams, Tennessee, near Nashville. Her parents owned the only store in town, and from an early age, Morgan’s mother would sit her on the counter and let her tell the customers stories as they paid for their groceries. Morgan always felt it was her destiny to “dazzle.” 

Growing up, her family impressed upon her that she was “special,” and she dreamed of moving to Hollywood. Morgan prided herself on being “cute” and “fun.” She figured that was all she would ever have to be, so she was surprised when her parents insisted that she attend college after high school. She hadn’t done well in school—Adams had lax academic standards, and Morgan was more focused on her hair, but she managed to enroll at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville.

During her college years, Morgan dated a number of “crazy” boys. She married one of them and dropped out of college. By 23, she was already divorced and feeling “directionless.” She started waiting tables to save money and reenrolled at the University of Tennessee. 

Morgan was determined to take a long break from dating, but then she met Chuck Morgan at the restaurant where she worked. Chuck was smitten with Morgan, buying her gifts and performing acts of service. Morgan finally agreed to date him, and the relationship was going well. Chuck had even mentioned marriage, so Morgan was shocked when he abruptly ended the relationship, citing her smoking as the only reason. Chuck graduated and moved to Bean Station, Tennessee, where he took over a mobile home refurbishing company.

About six months after the breakup, Chuck began calling Morgan again. Eventually, she agreed to get back together with him. After she graduated, they got married, and she moved to Bean Station to join him. Chuck insisted on saving as much money as possible, so they lived in a shabby guest house. Morgan, a chatty extrovert, often felt lonely and isolated. She was far from her family, knew no one in Bean Station, and Chuck worked long days and was quiet when he got home. 

At 27, Morgan got pregnant with her first baby, a boy called Charlie. She loved staying home with the baby and didn’t want to go back to work, but she also wanted independence and her own spending money. She heard from a friend who was working with a multilevel marketing company selling jewelry, and Morgan decided to give it a try. Soon, she was hosting jewelry parties all over Eastern Tennessee, entertaining guests with comedy routines, drawing on her life as a new mom. 

She sold so well that the company invited her to speak at their annual conference in Nashville. Morgan delivered a version of the routine she used at her parties, and afterward, the comedian hired for the event approached her and insisted she had a gift for standup. Morgan was thrilled, but she was also consumed by raising her two children.

A series of moves and a third baby occupied the next years of Morgan’s life. Once all her children were big enough to start school and activities, Morgan got breast implants and started thinking about the next stage of her life. She jumped at the chance to emcee a charity variety show, and the owner of a local sandwich shop offered her a weekly slot to perform. 

As word spread, Morgan booked more events. Eventually, she convinced a comedy club in Nashville to give her a 10-minute slot. The manager of the venue told her she had “something special,” but impressed upon her the difficulty of making it in comedy while also being a mother. Morgan would always put her children first, but she was sure she could make something work.

Morgan put her career on hold again when Chuck was transferred to the Southwest, and she stayed home to take care of their three children on her own. She began performing again when the family reunited in San Antonio, Texas. Traveling for late-night shows and waking up early with the kids was exhausting, but Morgan felt like she was doing what she was meant to be doing. 

Her hard work was validated when she got a phone call from a producer who wanted to make her comedy into a sitcom. Morgan was flown to Los Angeles, California, and she felt like her dreams were finally coming true. When the 2007 writers’ strike hit, however, the show was canceled. Morgan was devastated, but in hindsight, the show would have been incredibly disruptive for her family.

Morgan spent the next years dealing with aging, grieving friendship breakups, and launching her children into the world. She repeatedly prayed for a sign that it was time to give up on her comedy dreams, but there was always some small event to do. Finally, she decided to make a final effort and invest in some marketing. She hired an agency, and within hours of her social media relaunch, her videos were getting thousands of views. She booked a 100-city tour, but then the COVID-19 pandemic hit.

The pandemic was another setback for Morgan’s career, but it was also a blessing in disguise, as it allowed her to be home with her family and support her aging parents through health challenges. Even throughout her success, family remains the most important part of Morgan’s life. She knows her life will always be full because of her beautiful family and her ability to find blessings and comedy in life’s hardships.