Elizabeth Whittington's marriage to Howe, scion of their small Georgia town's most prominent family, staled long ago. Concerned about appearances and about maintaining an intact family for their children, Elizabeth ignores her husband's philandering and emotional distance. After meeting an old high school friend who makes it clear that he would like to be "more than friends," Elizabeths considers her future and tries to decide if maintaining appearances is worth the sacrifices she has made. Then Howe suffers a massive stroke, remaining comatose for months. When he awakes he is a changed man, suddenly concerned with righting past wrongs and repairing his broken marriage. Can Elizabeth find it in her heart to trust Howe again, to believe that he has really changed? Over the years Elizabeth has taken second place to Howe's mistresses and his domineering mother, Augusta, even to the point of being unable to redecorate their home, which displays Augusta's taste in every room. Spoiled daughter Patricia treats Elizabeth like a second class citizen while adoring her doting father. Son Garrett is more sensible and sympathetic to Elizabeth's situation.
When Howe offers Elizabeth the chance to move to a place of her own to think through their marriage and her future, she jumps at the opportunity. Thenshe discovers the story behind her new cottage is once again beset with doubts about Howe and his sincerity about mending fences and re-establishing old relationships with new ground rules.
Haywood Smith's novels are always entertaining and laced with humor. Waking Up in Dixie is a novel that deals with serious issues. The comedic elements are there, but they blend seamlessly into the more serious theme of whether or not people and marriages CAN change and, if they do, whether it is better to salvage the relationship or to shed the baggage and move on. My only regret in reading this book is that it ended too soon.
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