A review by tammyw14
Mirror for the Soul: A Christian Guide to the Enneagram by Alice Fryling

3.0

As a Christian who has been studying the Enneagram for a number of years, I am always looking for books I can recommend to fellow Christians who wish to learn more about this work. In Mirror for the Soul, I found a book that has a lot to recommend for a group of people learning to use the Enneagram as a tool to grow their faith, provided that they enter into the study with a solid knowledge of the Enneagram from other sources. The author does not provide enough detail about the Enneagram to build a sufficiently strong foundation for Christian growth using this tool. I appreciate that she attempts to expand understanding of the centers of intelligence, one of the more valuable aspects of the Enneagram when it comes to growth of any kind, especially Christian growth, but she uses the centers of intelligence as a way of simplifying the Enneagram rather than expanding our understanding of it. I wish that she had targeted an audience already familiar with the Enneagram and seeking to go deeper; by targeting a more beginner audience, she doesn't provide enough substance to do much. That said, I read this book alone, and I would love to do it with others to see if the opportunity to engage in the discussion questions offers an added dimension to this work. I found her use of the Bible to be especially engaging. And I also appreciated her perspectives on using the Enneagram in spiritual direction.