Whatever you want, dear

'How did you sleep?' he asks. 'Fine', I murmur. 'Except you were snoring again,' I add with a smirk.

It's true. He snores. Usually in that whistling, nasal way. He's laughing but I am mindful that such comments might be construed as disrespect. If you're too prone to making such derogatory remarks Laura suggests you use duct-tape to 'keep your mouth shut.' Am hungry and worry that duct-tape will make breakfast difficult. Resolve to try harder.

'Let's take up the carpet in the bedroom this weekend,' I say a few minutes later. Wrong again. Laura says comments like this are bossy and controlling. What I should have said is something like 'You know, I'd really love it if the carpet in the bedroom was taken up'. 'Express what you want without trying to control him. After all, husbands just want their wives to be happy,' says Laura. This is how she got her husband to paint the hall on SuperBowl Sunday - the American equivalent of the Cup Final.

'What do you want for breakfast?' he asks. Aha! I'm not going to be caught out this time: 'Whatever you want, dear'. This is Laura's mantra. Repeat it at every given opportunity and marital Nirvana will soon be yours.

Another key part of the successful surrender is giving up all fiscal responsibility to your better half. 'Turn over your finances to him and rely on him for what you need.' For Doyle's many critics this has been one of the most controversial aspects of the surrender-philosophy.

'What happens when a husband dies and the wife doesn't know anything about what's going on financially?' they ask. 'What happens if he leaves you? If he's a spendthrift? What if he just isn't good with money?'

Doyle's heard it all before and has an answer. Women shouldn't surrender to men who are physically abusive or have an active addiction – either to drugs, alcohol, gambling or sex with women other than their wives - she says. However, other husbands are 'good guys' and wives can show them they know this by handing over all their earnings and being satisfied with some sort of allowance for all those little things they need.