I was keen to read this book partly because I follow Bill and Kristi Gaultiere on social media and like what they have to say and also because I was interested in learning how the enneagram could fit with my personal faith. I know very little about the enneagram and before reading this book I had no idea which of the nine types I was.

I did find the first chapter hard to understand and it wasn’t until the end of the chapter did the authors mention that you could go to their website soulshepherding.org/Enneagram and take their free assessment to learn what type you are. I did this and I then re-read the first chapter which made a lot more sense to me. I wish they had made this suggestion right at the beginning of their book. The first chapter mentions a map for your type, this “includes your wing (the number next to yours that you relate to), stress line (in stress you take on the unhealthy traits of this number) and growth line (in growth you take on healthy traits of this number).” This is important to remember as you read through the book.

So, I recommend taking this assessment before reading the book and making a note of your “map” as this helped me to get more out of this book.

The authors also focus on four main emotions that can damage your identity and these are anger, shame, anxiety and sadness. I found the chapters on these emotions helpful as they gave information on understanding the emotion, feeling words for each of the emotions, scripture verses, and keys for living emotionally healthy.

At the time of reading, I did wonder how much of the book would be helpful – would I be interested in learning about the other types which I had no connection with?

However, overall I found the whole of the book worth reading. It helped me to better understand the various types, it showed me what is good about each of the types and how I can grow in my type.

The authors also showed how Jesus portrays each of the nine types in a healthy way at various times of his life and what we can learn from him so we can become more like him. The authors gave soul care practices which are relevant for each particular type and even though it wasn’t necessarily my type I was reading about I did find these suggestions useful as there was always something I felt would be good for me to put into practice. The “soul talk” which came at the end of the chapters was also helpful for considering and thinking about what I had just read and learning about how it applied to me.

This book helped me to better understand myself, why I think and behave in a certain way, and also how this has an impact on my emotions, particularly the four key emotions they focus on. I really liked how the authors connected the spiritual aspect of our lives to what they shared and provided help and suggestions on how we can grow spiritually. If we are to fully know ourselves as a whole the spiritual aspect of who we are needs to be included, and I am so glad this was covered in their book.

Love the Biblical view of the enneagram. There are some books that are so focused on the enneagram and almost self-helpy and this book was not one of those. The focus was still very much on the Lord and what He is doing in our hearts. Love love love the sections on how each enneagram number reflects the heart of Jesus! What a beautiful calling out of each of our individual "imaging" of Jesus as we live our lives. The practical applications of how we can receive empathy from others to more fully lean into who JEsus created us to be was so good! Thank you!