The Marriage Maintenance Manuals

Stay married.
Different brains,
one system.

Scripts and decision rules for ADHD, autism, and mixed-neurotype relationships. Organised by failure mode, not diagnosis. Built for Tuesday night, not the therapy session.

How Neurodivergent Couples Stay Married — cover
The Problem

Understanding the diagnosis
does not fix Tuesday night.

There are already books that explain neurodivergent relationships. This is not one of them. This book gives you the protocols — what to say, when to stop, and what to do when the system fails.

The gap

High Empathy, No Protocol

The market is full of books that explain how ADHD and autism affect relationships. None of them hand you a script for the moment your partner is in sensory overload and you are trying to have a conversation about the dishes.

The structure

Organised by Failure Mode

Not by diagnosis. Not by who is neurodivergent. Each chapter names a specific collision that happens in neurodivergent relationships — the entryway conflict, the sensory spiral, the executive function cascade — and installs a protocol to resolve it.

The constraint

Tuesday Night, Small Apartment

No aspirational solutions. Every protocol is designed for real conditions: two tired people, fluctuating capacity, competing needs. If it does not work when one of you is dysregulated, it is not in this book.

"Understanding the diagnosis explains the collision. The protocol stops it." Alex Merrett
How This Book Works

Nine constraints.
Every protocol follows them.

Every script, decision rule, and protocol in this book was built against nine operational constraints drawn from the research and from the one-star reviews of every competitor in the category.

1

No default reader

Scripts work regardless of which partner is neurodivergent. ADHD, autism, mixed-neurotype, and fully neurodivergent couples are all addressed without assuming a default neurotype.

2

No generic advice

Every prescription must be ND-specific or it is cut. "Communicate openly" is not a protocol. "Say these five words when your partner is in transition overload" is.

3

No aspirational solutions

Tuesday night. Small apartment. Two tired people. Every protocol works under those conditions or it does not appear in this book.

4

No diagnosis chapters

The book is organised by failure mode, not diagnosis. You do not need to understand the neuroscience of RSD to use the RSD circuit-breaker script.

5

Short psychoeducation, long protocols

Context is brief. Scripts, decision trees, and checklists are extensive. The ratio is intentional: understanding comes from doing, not from reading.

6

Capacity-based, not fairness-based

50/50 division of labour fails in neurodivergent households because capacity fluctuates. Every load-distribution protocol is capacity-based, not fairness-based.

7

Secular, non-clinical, non-faith-based

US English. No religious framing. No clinical jargon used as a substitute for plain instruction. If the reader needs a definition to use the tool, rewrite the tool.

8

Every protocol has an Exit Rule

Each protocol specifies the exact moment to abandon it if it fails to de-escalate. Knowing when to stop is as important as knowing how to start.

9

No cold or somatic shock techniques

No ice cubes. No cold water. No physical discomfort as a regulation strategy. Every regulation protocol uses language, space, and timing as its tools.

Sample Script

Five words.
The foundation of the whole system.

Every protocol in this book is anchored by a five-word script. Short enough to use when dysregulated. Specific enough to work. The Verbal Shortcut System runs through every chapter.

Script · Arrival transition · Dysregulated partner
"I need twenty minutes. Please."
Five words. No explanation required. No justification needed. The 20-Minute Arrival Blueprint activates on this phrase. Your partner knows what it means and what comes next. The protocol handles the rest.
Script · Sensory overload · No-explanation-required protocol
"I'm hitting a wall right now."
The Sensory Audit Protocol identifies your specific triggers in advance. This phrase signals active overload without requiring you to explain, justify, or negotiate in the moment when you are least able to.
What's Inside

Ten chapters.
Organised by what goes wrong,
not by diagnosis.

Each chapter names a specific failure mode, explains why it happens in neurodivergent relationships, and installs a protocol to resolve it. Open to the chapter that describes your biggest friction point.

Chapter 1
The Entryway Collision
Decompression needs collide with connection needs at the door. The 20-Minute Arrival Blueprint resolves this without negotiation.
20-Minute Arrival Blueprint Verbal Shortcut System Emergency Stop Rule
Chapter 2
The Sensory Spiral
Mid-conversation sensory overload causes processing breakdown. The Sensory Audit Protocol identifies triggers in advance and installs no-explanation-required scripts.
Sensory Audit Protocol Overload Scripts
Chapter 3
The Executive Function Cascade
EF dysfunction creates cascading tasks in shared spaces. Space-specific decision trees handle the kitchen, the laundry, and the bathroom without shame or negotiation.
EF Decision Trees Capacity Scripts
Chapter 4
The Processing Mismatch
Internal and external processors reach mutual overwhelm. Timing matrices and processing request scripts bridge the gap without one partner shutting down.
Processing Bridge Blueprint Timing Matrix
Chapter 5
The Rejection Sensitivity Spike
RSD transforms neutral interactions into perceived attacks. The RSD Physical Diagnostic identifies active episodes. The 10-minute circuit breaker interrupts the spiral.
RSD Physical Diagnostic Circuit Breaker Protocol
Chapter 6
The Shutdown vs Stonewalling
Autistic shutdown looks like deliberate withdrawal. The Shutdown Diagnostic Blueprint distinguishes involuntary shutdown from stonewalling so you can respond correctly.
Shutdown Diagnostic Blueprint If/Then Protocol
Chapter 7
The Invisible Labor Asymmetry
Mental load redistribution fails when based on fairness instead of capacity. The Low-Capacity Handover Blueprint redistributes cognitive tasks based on what each partner can actually carry today.
Low-Capacity Handover Blueprint Mental Load Inventory
Chapter 8
The Decision Fatigue Spiral
Small-choice accumulation causes choice paralysis. Automation protocols and default-setting systems eliminate recurring decisions before they drain capacity.
Default-Setting Protocol Decision Automation Matrix
Chapter 9
The Morning After
Post-dysregulation resets that re-trigger the original incident. The 24-Hour Household Reboot Protocol restores systems without requiring detailed processing when capacity is lowest.
24-Hour Reboot Protocol Universal Emergency Stop
Chapter 10
The Avoided Conversation
Necessary difficult conversations never happen because the window never opens. The Difficult Conversation Blueprint schedules high-stakes discussions when both partners are regulated.
Conversation Blueprint Triage System
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About the Author

For couples who understand
the wiring and still need a protocol.

Alex Merrett
Alex Merrett
Author · Marriage Maintenance Manual Series

Alex Merrett writes the Marriage Maintenance Manual series. Practical guides for couples who have read the relationship books, understood the principles, and then watched Monday happen.

She spent over two decades testing what works in her own marriage before turning those tools into a system other couples could use. The result: named protocols with clear instructions, word-for-word scripts for hard conversations, and a maintenance rhythm that keeps a relationship running without waiting for a crisis.

She is a systems thinker. The books are grounded in the research of Gottman, Johnson, Nagoski, and Rosenberg, but they're built for people who need to know what to do, not what to study. Too busy for therapy, too smart to wing it. That's the reader she loves to write for.

Different brains.
One system that works for both.

Scripts and decision rules for ADHD, autism, and mixed-neurotype relationships. Coming soon.