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A review by bethgupta
The Honest Enneagram: Know Your Type, Own Your Challenges, Embrace Your Growth by Sarajane Case
4.0
When I stepped into this audiobook, the extent of my enneagram knowledge was pretty cursory and I was fully aware of that. I knew that I was a type 1 wing 2, and I broadly knew the qualities that type possesses/exhibits. My knowledge ended there.
Before reading Sarajane Case's book, I felt like my enneagram was sort of this box that I fit in, and understanding my type could help me understand myself better, but I had no idea that I could actively grow WITHIN my enneagram type. I didn't understand that I could reach for the "high" lines of my type and subtype (more on that soon), and recognize when I was falling towards a "low" line of it. What Sarajane's book did for me was to (rather counterintuitively) teach me that I'll never "outgrow" my enneagram type, and that's A) very much NOT the point of enneagrams, and B) a GOOD thing. The idea that "we can and should outgrow ourselves" is what causes discouragement and frustration as we work to be the very best versions of ourselves. Actively working to change my type is A) not possible and B) not the goal. Learning that the goal was embracing my growth within my type was quite the relief, as if I'd been holding a breath I didn't know I'd been holding.
If my first paragraph here isn't making it plaintively obvious that I'm a type 1 enneagram, I can now spoil the surprise for you that I'm a 1. ;) Sarajane's book also taught me that there are subtypes, mine being "social," which means I spend a lot of time worrying over how I'm being perceived and I tend to have a harsh + loud inner critical voice. It was interesting to me to hear that "1s are some of the best people you know," because to me, being a 1 has been synonymous with rigidity, inflexibility, high levels of self-inflicted pressure, a need for perfectionism, and it overall just felt like a "not very fun, highly stressed" type. Sarajane helped me see the BEST qualities in 1s, like we live honorably, we give great advice, we care about the wellbeing of others, we are consistent and reliable, and we help others want to be the best versions of themselves too. Moreover, it gave me very concrete objectives that are common ways 1s reach for that high line of their types, like picking my battles, writing down my anger on a piece of paper and throwing it away, and not nitpicking people I care about. She does this all with a very "soft landing," if you will, and I feel like her deep understanding of each enneagram personality type lets her speak directly to THAT particular audience in the way that it's going to best be taken in.
The most accurate way I can describe this reading experience is that it was like looking into a mirror, but looking into a mirror on a very good day: seeing not only what's there, but seeing ALL that is there (the best parts included), and knowing that you now have a little arsenal of tools that helps empower you to enhance that reflection over time. We all get to live with ourselves, and this book helped me understand that it's truly a "get to" instead of a "have to". I'm so glad I listened to this (*narrated by Leslie Howard), and I'm excited to follow @enneagramandcoffee with this knowledge foundation I'm now carrying around. Thanks to #netgalley for the ebook; this was truly a joy.
Before reading Sarajane Case's book, I felt like my enneagram was sort of this box that I fit in, and understanding my type could help me understand myself better, but I had no idea that I could actively grow WITHIN my enneagram type. I didn't understand that I could reach for the "high" lines of my type and subtype (more on that soon), and recognize when I was falling towards a "low" line of it. What Sarajane's book did for me was to (rather counterintuitively) teach me that I'll never "outgrow" my enneagram type, and that's A) very much NOT the point of enneagrams, and B) a GOOD thing. The idea that "we can and should outgrow ourselves" is what causes discouragement and frustration as we work to be the very best versions of ourselves. Actively working to change my type is A) not possible and B) not the goal. Learning that the goal was embracing my growth within my type was quite the relief, as if I'd been holding a breath I didn't know I'd been holding.
If my first paragraph here isn't making it plaintively obvious that I'm a type 1 enneagram, I can now spoil the surprise for you that I'm a 1. ;) Sarajane's book also taught me that there are subtypes, mine being "social," which means I spend a lot of time worrying over how I'm being perceived and I tend to have a harsh + loud inner critical voice. It was interesting to me to hear that "1s are some of the best people you know," because to me, being a 1 has been synonymous with rigidity, inflexibility, high levels of self-inflicted pressure, a need for perfectionism, and it overall just felt like a "not very fun, highly stressed" type. Sarajane helped me see the BEST qualities in 1s, like we live honorably, we give great advice, we care about the wellbeing of others, we are consistent and reliable, and we help others want to be the best versions of themselves too. Moreover, it gave me very concrete objectives that are common ways 1s reach for that high line of their types, like picking my battles, writing down my anger on a piece of paper and throwing it away, and not nitpicking people I care about. She does this all with a very "soft landing," if you will, and I feel like her deep understanding of each enneagram personality type lets her speak directly to THAT particular audience in the way that it's going to best be taken in.
The most accurate way I can describe this reading experience is that it was like looking into a mirror, but looking into a mirror on a very good day: seeing not only what's there, but seeing ALL that is there (the best parts included), and knowing that you now have a little arsenal of tools that helps empower you to enhance that reflection over time. We all get to live with ourselves, and this book helped me understand that it's truly a "get to" instead of a "have to". I'm so glad I listened to this (*narrated by Leslie Howard), and I'm excited to follow @enneagramandcoffee with this knowledge foundation I'm now carrying around. Thanks to #netgalley for the ebook; this was truly a joy.