The Owner’s Manual for Thriving Relationships

By Mitch Abblett, PhD: Coming November 18, 2025 — Johns Hopkins University Press

You Can’t Control People.

You Can Own Your Moments with Them.

Every relationship—romantic, professional, or parental—runs on moments.

Moments of tension.

Moments of silence.

Moments where we forget who we meant to be.

Most of us are reacting on autopilot—trying to steer by fixing the other person, managing the story, or defending our pride.

But thriving relationships aren’t built on control.

They’re built on awareness. On ownership.

In The Owner’s Manual for Thriving Relationships, psychologist Mitch Abblett
offers a field guide for showing up—really showing up—in the moments that matter most. This is not a book about better communication scripts or “winning” at empathy. It’s about the quiet, daily practice of taking responsibility for your side of the moment, without shame or blame.

Inside You’ll Explore:

• Why “being right” can cost you the connection you actually crave.
• How to see and name your patterns without turning them into enemies.
• The shift from reaction to resonance—how to stay open when everything in you wants to close.
• Practical, bite-sized practices for repairing trust, softening conflict, and deepening presence.

Why This Book

Relationships don’t fall apart because we stop loving each other. 

They unravel because we forget to pause between the cue and the comeback—to remember that we have a choice.

Owning a moment isn’t about taking blame. 

It’s about claiming agency, curiosity, and compassion right where life is happening: between two nervous systems trying to connect.