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WORK TITLE: The Road Back to You
WORK NOTES: with Ian Morgan Cron
PSEUDONYM(S):
BIRTHDATE:
WEBSITE:
CITY: Dallas
STATE: TX
COUNTRY:
NATIONALITY:
https://www.ghostranch.org/instructors/suzanne-stabile/ * https://lifeinthetrinityministry.com/founders/ *
RESEARCHER NOTES:
PERSONAL
Married; husband’s name Rev. Joseph Stabile.
EDUCATION:Southern Methodist University, B.S.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Lecturer, preacher, and teacher of the Enneagram. Life in the Trinity Ministry and the Micah Center, Dallas, TX, cofounder and codirector with husband Joseph Stabile, 1985—. Has also been a social worker and high school teacher.
WRITINGS
SIDELIGHTS
Suzanne Stabile is a master of the Enneagram, an ancient system for describing human behavior. Along with her husband, Reverend Joseph Stabile, an associate pastor at Highland Park United Methodist Church and the cofounder and codirector of the Life in the Trinity Ministry in Dallas, Texas, she preaches and teaches people about the Enneagram. Suzanne has led retreats that focus on spiritual formation based from Enneagram wisdom, and she has traveled the country as a lecturer and presenter. She has also been employed as a social worker and high school teacher. She holds a bachelor’s degree in social science from Southern Methodist University.
In 2016, Stabile partnered with Ian Morgan Cron, an Episcopal priest, to write The Road Back to You: An Enneagram Journey to Self-Discovery. The book introduces the Enneagram, a system that looks at the human personality, self-knowledge, and spiritual development from nine different personality types, each with its own distinct way of seeing the world. Cron and Stabile connect the Enneagram to Christian spirituality and explore practical methods for accessing Enneagram wisdom so that persons may gain deeper self-knowledge and more complete compassion and understanding for others, with the ultimate goal being spiritual discovery and feeling love for God. The authors claim the Enneagram has been used for hundreds of years and is eerily accurate.
Writing at Foreword Reviews, Kristine Morris noted that when Cron himself made use of the Enneagram, “he began to see himself with the same delight, pride, and expectation with which God sees him.” A writer in Publishers Weekly appreciated the authors’ witty and energetic tone when explaining how the Enneagram can identify person’s virtues and flaws and then suggest paths for improvement. Noting that there is not much literature on the Enneagram, the Publishers Weekly reviewer thought that “Cron and Stabile’s approach is likely to appeal particularly to thoughtful younger Christians.”
A contributor to the Hope Chest Reviews Web site praised the book for being written “in an engaging style that’s quite easy to read and understand” and offering “a new way” for human beings to understand themselves and others. In addition, the same reviewer found nothing in the book “to be over the top or at all preachy” but then advised: “Anyone who has a serious aversion to religious references of any kind may not care for the book. But I think anyone who at least believes in a higher power and/or believes that at our hearts we are spiritual beings will be OK with it.”
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Publishers Weekly, August 8, 2016, review of The Road Back to You: An Enneagram Journey to Self-Discovery, p. 61.
ONLINE
Bob on Books, https://bobonbooks.com (January 5, 2017), review of The Road Back to You.
Foreword Reviews, https://www.forewordreviews.com (August 26, 2016), review of The Road Back to You.
Ghost Ranch Web Site, https://www.ghostranch.org (May 21, 2017), short profile.
Hope Chest Reviews, http://www.thcreviews.com (March 28, 2017), review of The Road Back to You.
Life in the Trinity Ministry, https://lifeinthetrinityministry.com/ (May 21, 2017), author profile.
Road Back to You Web site, https://www.theroadbacktoyou.com/ (May 21, 2017).
Suzanne Stabile is an Enneagram master. The work she does in introducing people to this ancient spiritual tool is designed to enhance self-knowledge, encourage spiritual growth and create new and better ways of participating in community.
Life in the Trinity Ministry was founded in 1985 by Rev. Joseph and Suzanne Stabile. Gathering with other persons who were keenly aware of God’s call on their lives, they were joined in prayer and support to develop the ministry. LTM began with parish missions/revivals preached around the country with special programs for various groups within the local church. In recent years the Stabiles have been very active in retreat work and in seminars teaching on topics of spiritual growth and formation.
Suzanne Stabile, an internationally renowned teacher and director of retreats, offers a unique and creative approach to the practice of Spiritual Formation. A master teacher of the Enneagram, Suzanne draws upon her educational background at Southern Methodist University, as well as her life skills learned as a mother of four, a social worker and a minister’s spouse. Her refreshing teaching style is an unforgettable blend of humor, honesty and authenticity. She and her husband, Joseph, are the founders of Life in the Trinity Ministry and the Micah Center in Dallas, Texas.
The Reverend Joseph Stabile is an Associate Pastor at Highland Park United Methodist Church, as well as Co-Founder and Animator of Life in the Trinity Ministry, in Dallas, Texas. He also serves as an adjunct faculty member at SMU Perkins School of Theology in their program of certification for Spiritual Directors. Reverend Stabile has served in vocational ministry for more than forty years, with combined experience in spiritual direction, retreat leadership, pastoral care and leadership, and pastoral mentoring. During his years in the Vincentian priesthood, he was a local Superior and a Provincial Consultor for the Governing Board of the Province. After twenty-six years with the Vincentian Fathers, Reverend Stabile left the priesthood in 1987, and in 1989 his Orders were accepted in the North Texas Annual Conference, and has served on the North Texas Annual Conference Board of Ordained Ministry, on the Committee for Local Pastors. Reverend Stabile received his Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy from St. Mary of the Barrens Seminary in Perryville, Missouri. He received the Master of Divinity from DeAndreis Institute of Theology in Chicago, and the Master of Languages and Linguistics in Spanish from Universidad Ibero-Americana in Mexico City, Mexico. Joe and his wife Suzanne have 4 grown children and 6 grandchildren.
Suzanne Stabile is a highly sought after speaker and teacher, known for her engaging laugh, personal vulnerability and creative approach to Enneagram instruction.
As an internationally recognized Enneagram Master, Suzanne has conducted over 500 Enneagram workshops over the past 25 years. She has spoken to College audiences that include Baylor and Drury Universities, Hendrix College, Perkins School of Theology (SMU) and Brite Divinity School (TCU), hundreds of churches across America including First Baptist, Austin, Frist Presbyterian, and Broadway Baptist, Ft. Worth, TX and teaches regularly in the Baylor Health Care System, in Dallas, in both the Cancer and Transplant Hospitals.
Additionally, she has taught at Richard Rohr’s Center for Action and Contemplation and has been a keynote speaker for a number of Conferences offered by the CAC. She taught with Father Rohr to an international audience in Assisi, Italy, on The Enneagram and Paradox. Other events Suzanne has spoken at include The North Texas Conference of the United Methodist Church, Christianity 21, The Festival of Courage and Faith in Greenwich CT, the Emerging Christianity and Telemachus Conferences, the Southwest Regional Gathering of the Disciples of Christ, and Laity Lodge.
Suzanne received her B.S. in Social Sciences from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas where she also completed additional graduate work in the Schools of Sociology and Theology. She has served as a high school professor, the first women’s basketball coach at SMU after Title IX, and as the founding Director of Shared Housing, a social service agency in Dallas.
When she is not on the road teaching and lecturing, Suzanne is at home in Dallas, Texas with her husband Rev. Joseph Stabile, a United Methodist pastor with whom she co-founded Life in the Trinity Ministry and the Micah Center. She is the mother of four children and grandmother of six.
Suzanne Stabile, an internationally renowned teacher and director of retreats, offers a unique and creative approach to the practice of Spiritual Formation. A master teacher of the Enneagram, Suzanne draws upon her educational background at Southern Methodist University, as well as her life skills learned as a mother of four, a social worker and a minister’s spouse. Her refreshing teaching style is an unforgettable blend of humor, honesty and authenticity. She and her husband, Joseph, are the founders of Life in the Trinity Ministry and the Micah Center in Dallas, Texas.
For more information, please visit www.lifeinthetrinityministry.com.
For Speaking: Chaffee Management Group
Phone: 615.300.9699
Email: jchaffee@chaffeemanagement.com
Suzanne Stabile is a highly sought-after speaker, teacher, and internationally recognized Enneagram master teacher. Along with her husband, Rev. Joseph Stabile, she is cofounder of Life in the Trinity Ministry, a nonprofit, nondenominational ministry committed to the spiritual growth and formation of adults. They have many audio resources available, including The Enneagram Journey curriculum. Their ministry home, the Micah Center, is located in Dallas, Texas. Sharing the wisdom of the Enneagram through witty, engaging stories and heartfelt compassion for humanity, Suzanne has conducted more than five hundred Enneagram workshops at renowned universities, churches, and for- and non-profit entities. Her repertoire includes Pepperdine, Lipscomb, Baylor, and Drury Universities; Hendrix College; Perkins School of Theology (Southern Methodist University); and Brite Divinity School (Texas Christian University). In addition, she has taught at Baylor Health Care System in Dallas, Texas, where she was the founding director of Shared Housing, a social service agency serving the elderly and poor. When Suzanne is not on the road teaching and lecturing, she is at home in Dallas, ministering and relaxing with her husband, Joe, a United Methodist pastor. They have four children.
Read more about Suzanne's ministry at lifeinthetrinityministry.com.
The Road Back to You: An Enneagram Interview with Suzanne Stabile
November 2, 2016
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Suzanne Stabile and Ordinary Mystic
The Road Back to You by Suzanne Stabile and Ian Cron is the best introduction to the Enneagram that I've read. For those not familiar with the Enneagram, it is a personality typing tool (based on nine types) used for deepening spiritual and human transformation. It also happens to have an esoteric backstory, introduced in the West by a teacher named Gurdjieff as a symbolic key to unlocking cosmic mysteries. More on this, I hope, in a future post. The Road Back to You stays away from the cosmological in favor of the framework's profoundly practical application through personality typing. I recommend this to anyone seeking greater knowledge of self and God. The book begins with a quote from Augustine, wisely reminding us that the journey of self and the journey into Spirit are the same: "Grant, Lord, that I may know myself that I may know thee."
What makes this such a compelling introduction to the Enneagram is the combination of wisdom, real-life scenarios, and crackling writing. In my probably snobby opinion, many spiritual formation books contain great treasures, but fail as artistry. This one, notably, does not. Suzanne Stabile, as she says below, is the seasoned Enneagram teacher, having taught the Enneagram for over 20 years through her Life in the Trinity ministry. Ian Cron is an Enneagram teacher, writer, therapist, songwriter, and Episcopal priest who gives the book it's voice and verve. Together, they've created what I hope will be required reading for anyone first dipping their toes into the Enneagram. Here's Ordinary Mystic's interview.
Ordinary Mystic: First of all, this is an enjoyable, refreshingly well-written and wise introduction to the Enneagram. For readers who may not be familiar to the Enneagram, what is your elevator pitch description of this ancient tool?
Suzanne Stabile: The Enneagram is an ancient spiritual wisdom that teaches nine ways of seeing the world – and so, nine ways of making sense out of what we see. Its gift is both self-awareness and other-awareness. It’s my greatest hope for increasing civility and compassion for ourselves and for others and for greater civility in the world. We are not all “basically alike.” Understanding those differences is foundational in knowing who we are, who we are in relation to others, and who we are in relation to God
Ordinary Mystic: Many of the site's readers and community have been impacted deeply by the work of Richard Rohr. You mentioned on The Road Back to You podcast that you first learned the Enneagram from Fr. Rohr. Can you say more about Fr. Rohr's influence on how you understand the Enneagram?
Suzanne Stabile: Father Rohr actually suggested I not talk about the Enneagram for four or five years. I don’t think he would suggest that to everyone, that was specific to me because he knew I wanted to teach it. I spent the time observing others, taking notes about how people were different from me, how they were different from each other, and only listening when others talked about the Enneagram. Without explaining it to me, Father Richard’s advice paved the way for me to gain a deeper understanding of the many facets of Enneagram wisdom. As a result of my willingness to follow his instruction, when I began teaching I had more than a passing knowledge of the Numbers. I had embraced the depth and seemingly unending possibilities of how this ancient understanding could enhance our ability to be more compassionate with others and with ourselves. The practice of acceptance and the kindness that followed has served me well in every aspect of my life both personally and professionally.
Ordinary Mystic: What do you make of what you refer to as the "Indiana Jones-worthy" backstory to the Enneagram? How much should we spend time on trying to discern this fascinating, strange history (from Evagrius to Gurdjieff esotericism to Jesuits!)?
Suzanne Stabile: Your interest in that information would depend on your Enneagram number. I’m a TWO on the Enneagram so my concerns are primarily relational. A FIVE on the Enneagram would be interested in origin, history, the Enneagram symbol itself, the math it represents, etc. Fr. Richard does a great job of teaching both in his book The Enneagram: A Christian Perspective
Ordinary Mystic: How is the Enneagram a tool for spiritual formation?
Suzanne Stabile: My husband, Joe, and I lead a institute for spiritual formation for a long time. It was a two year program and one of the things we learned early on was that most people share in common the first two stumbling blocks in a serious spiritual journey towards transformation. The first thing they run into are all of the things they don’t like about themselves. That’s followed by the concerns and wounding they bring from family of origin. The wisdom of the Enneagram addresses both effectively.
We are each, by Enneagram number, well suited for some spiritual practices but not for others. There is great frustration in trying to engage in a spiritual practice that isn’t suited to your number.
Ordinary Mystic: I've often run into people who think an Enneagram type is something you "test," like Myers-Briggs, and they even have online Enneagram testing! How is the Enneagram different from other personality-typing systems? And how do you think the process of finding one's type takes place?
Suzanne Stabile: I have not found the online Enneagram tests to be accurate because they lack the ability to measure motive, the key factor of discerning one’s Enneagram number. That is the reason we wrote the book. The Enneagram has been an oral tradition for centuries. Anyone who has the opportunity to hear the Enneagram taught orally by a qualified Enneagram Master teacher will greatly benefit from that experience. The narrative approach has a lot of value because the Enneagram is deceptively simple and nuance is very important. That nuance is best represented in stories.
In terms of other personality-typing systems, I think they’re all good and each has its place. As a spiritual wisdom tool, the Enneagram names us, weaknesses and strengths, and at the same time provides us with information and opportunity to do something about what we’ve learned.
Ordinary Mystic: I like to think that I am a fairly self-aware person, having faced and quite conscious of my own limitations and wounds. And yet I honestly can't figure out if I'm a "1" or a "5." What would you say to someone like me who doesn't initially identify with just one type?
Suzanne Stabile: The personal answer: 5s have a limited amount of energy and every encounter costs them. 1s find engaging with people to be energizing. 5s are not prone to unexamined guilt or self-deprecation. 1s have a constant inner critic who berates them mercilessly so they really struggle with guilt and self-loathing.
As for other numbers, there are similar differences that an Enneagram Master teacher can point out in helping people discover their number.
Ordinary Mystic: The book sparkles with a delightful combination of good writing and profound insight. Can you say more about the process of shaping the book with two authors? Who is the writer, who the wisdom-teacher, or both?
Suzanne Stabile: Ian was the sparkling writer. I’ve been studying and teaching the Enneagram for 20+ years.
Ordinary Mystic: What do you most hope people will take away from the book?
Suzanne Stabile: I most hope that people will know that at any given time they see one ninth of what’s happening.
The Road Back to You: An Enneagram Journey to Self-Discovery
263.32 (Aug. 8, 2016): p61.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2016 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
* The Road Back to You: An Enneagram Journey to Self-Discovery
Ian Morgan Cron and Suzanne Stabile. IVP. $24 (220p) ISBN 978-0-8308-4619-1
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]
Cron (Chasing Francis), an Episcopal priest, brings his witty, energetic voice to this collaboration with Stabile, a retreat director and expert on the Enneagram--a system of personality typology with roots in Christian and Islamic mysticism. The beauty of the Enneagram is its charity: the system clearly names the flaws as well as the virtues of each personality type. The Enneagram also counsels humility and acknowledges its own limits ("{The Enneagram] is not infallible or inerrant," writes Cron and Stabile)--a welcome modesty in religious understanding today. As one of a number of ways of thinking about personality, it is a helpful spiritual analogue to Myers-Briggs typology. The authors counsel the use of the system, which includes nine distinct personality types, for self-knowledge: "The objective of it is self-understanding." It is also a useful tool for ministers and managers and anyone who has to work with diverse personalities, which will make the book appropriate for seminary study. There isn't much literature on the Enneagram, with little for curious evangelical Christians. Cron and Stabile's approach is likely to appeal particularly to thoughtful younger Christians. (Oct.)
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
"The Road Back to You: An Enneagram Journey to Self-Discovery." Publishers Weekly, 8 Aug. 2016, p. 61+. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA460900430&it=r&asid=a472d43d103bd23392d6ecafaa352b33. Accessed 28 Mar. 2017.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A460900430
The Road Back to You
An Enneagram Journey to Self-Discovery
Reviewed by Kristine Morris
August 26, 2016
“Life hands us a challenging syllabus. We need all the help we can get,” writes Ian Morgan Cron, who, together with Suzanne Stabile, reveals how the Enneagram, from the Greek words for nine (ennea) and for a drawing or picture (gram), can enrich our lives by enhancing our self-awareness.
Wired for survival at all costs, we learn early on that our survival depends on meeting the expectations of our family, friends, and culture, so we form a protective mask, called a “personality,” or “persona” (Greek for mask), to hide our authentic selves—a mask that, over time, imprisons us. Beneath the mask there lives a “truer, more luminous” self, one that we must come to know if we are to feel fully alive and be whole.
Cron and Stabile walk through the Enneagram’s nine different personality types and their distinct ways of seeing the world, showing how each one has a potentially infinite number of expressions, strengths, and weaknesses.
Cron describes his own Enneagram experience as a feeling of waking up after having been asleep for a long time. He explains that in catching a glimpse of the person he was created to be, he began to see himself with the same delight, pride, and expectation with which God sees him, and to sense the immediacy of God’s grace. “In the spiritual life that’s no small thing,” he writes.
The Road Back to You: An Enneagram Journey to Self-Discovery
By: Ian Morgan Cron, Suzanne Stabile
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Synopsis
The Enneagram is an ancient personality typing system that's been around for centuries and is uncannily accurate in describing human behavior patterns. In recent years, it's been gaining in popularity for its insights that can help anyone become more self-aware and potentially overcome self-defeating behaviors. In The Road Back to You, Ian Morgan Cron and Suzanne Stabile offer a comprehensive and accessible approach to understanding yourself and others using the Enneagram, while exploring the connections of the Enneagram to Christian spirituality, which can help the reader get in touch with God by discovering their true selves in Him. In doing so, the Enneagram can help you become a wiser and more compassionate person.
Review
I've been studying personality typing for more than twenty years, primarily the Myers-Briggs-Jung typology via the Kiersey Temperament Sorter. When I first discovered it all those years ago, I couldn't believe how uncannily accurate it was in describing me and my behavior patterns. Since then I haven't found any other personality typing system that was nearly as accurate. Until now. Our pastor, who is also the leader of our church book club, suggested The Road Back to You for our December book club read. When I heard that the subject of the book was personalities, I was interested in trying it out, but since I'd never heard of the Enneagram before and had never had much luck with personality typing systems other than Myers-Briggs-Jung, I perhaps approached it with a slight bit of skepticism as well. I have to say that the book almost immediately blew away any misgivings I might have had and sucked me into this new way of looking at personalities.
This is a little different sort of book than what we've discussed in our book club before, and so the question was raised as to how our members felt about self-help books. In general, I've found that self-help books tend to focus in on a particular topic, which may or may not be of interest to or actually help someone unless they or someone they love is experiencing that issue. Also the way in which the author approaches the topic may or may not resonate with the reader, because everyone has a different way of dealing with things. However, it's my fervent belief that personality typing can help everyone. After all, every person on the planet has a personality and learning more about how individuals think and behave can be immensely helpful, not only for understanding ourselves but also for understanding our fellow humans, especially those who are different from us. It can also help us in all our relationships, whether it's a marriage/romantic relationship, a parent/child relationship, friendships, boss/employee relationships, or basically any capacity in which we interact closely with another human being. It's for this reason that I highly recommend every person study some kind of personality typing at some point in their lives, whether it's Myers-Briggs-Jung, the Enneagram, or some other system that makes sense to you.
As for The Road Back to You, it's basically a primer on the Enneagram. It delves into the basics of what the Enneagram is, where it came from (although admittedly the origins of it are ancient and uncertain), the triads, and each of the nine numbers or personality types. Each chapter takes a closer look at a single number's general traits, what they're like in childhood, at work, and in relationships, the deadly sin of each number (more on that in a moment), their wing numbers, their stress and security numbers, how that number can make a spiritual transformation, and ten suggested steps toward that transformation. Even if you think you know which number you are and are eager to find out more about your number by skipping ahead, I'd encourage you not to. Reading about each number and seeing if it's a good fit is part of the self-discovery of the Enneagram. In simply reading the basic description of each type in the introductory chapters, I honestly didn't know for sure which one I was. I was able to narrow it down to a few, but I didn't know for sure until I read my type. Then I had a major lightbulb moment. Not to mention, reading them all is a good way to get a feel for the personalities of those around you. As I read each type that I knew wasn't my own, I found myself saying, Oh, that's my husband, or daughter, or mother-in-law, or friend, etc. In so doing, you'll get a feel for how they think and why that behave in the ways that they do.
Given its sketchy origins, it's hard to say exactly who discovered or invented the Enneagram. However, in looking at the known history of it, I'd say there's definitely a spiritual element given that several faith traditions are said to contain some aspects of it and that several faith leaders have added to and tweaked it over the years. The authors of The Road Back to You are respectively an Episcopal priest and the wife of a Methodist minister, who regularly teaches the Enneagram and runs spiritual retreats where attendees can learn more about it. This being the case, the book has a definite spiritual foundation. As I mentioned each number is related to one of the seven deadly sins with the additions of fear and deceit. This is considered the number's primary weakness. As I also mentioned each number has a section on spiritual transformation, which is how you can strive to become an emotionally healthier version of yourself. But throughout the book, there are various references to how each number relates to a characteristic of God and how we can use our gifts in service to Him. I didn't find anything to be over the top or at all preachy, but anyone who has a serious aversion to religious references of any kind may not care for the book. But I think anyone who at least believes in a higher power and/or believes that at our hearts, we are spiritual beings will be OK with it.
The Road Back to You is a very well-written book that's done in an engaging style that's quite easy to read and understand. It appears that Mr. Cron was the primary writer of the book, as many of the anecdotes from real-life people come from those in his own family and sphere of acquaintances, with Ms. Stabile probably acting as an expert resource on information relating to the Enneagram. I can say without hesitation that I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and would certainly be interested in checking out anything else that the authors have written. But most of all it's given me a new way of looking at myself and my loved ones, and I'm very eager to delve even further into the Enneagram and learn even more about it.
Review: The Road Back to You
January 5, 2017 / rtrube54
the-road-back-to-you
The Road Back to You, Ian Morgan Cron and Suzanne Stabile. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2016.
Summary: Describes the Enneagram and each of the nine types, and how these may be helpful in Self-discovery, uncovering one’s true self and experiencing spiritual growth.
1000px-enneagram-svg
Enneagram Diagram
John Calvin, and many others have observed that knowledge of God and knowledge of self often go hand in hand. Often, what we do not know or knowledge that has been colored by the wounds of our upbringing deflect us from knowing God and ourselves truly. One of the tools that has been found increasingly helpful by many spiritual directors and others who work with spiritual formation is the Enneagram. It’s roots go back to a fourth century Christian mystic, Evagrius, who developed a system based on the seven deadly sins, plus an overarching sin of self-love. G.I. Gurdjieff first developed the Enneagram figure and two personality psychologists, Oscar Ichazo and Claudio Naranjo developed the modern theory that underlies the Enneagram. It was introduced into spiritual formation circles by Catholic retreat leader Richard Rohr and several other Jesuit priests.
Ian Morgan Cron and Suzanne Stabile provide a readable and witty introduction to the Enneagram with chapters on each of the nine types. They begin by giving some of the background of the Enneagram and list each of the nine types and the corresponding deadly sin each type is most susceptible to. They are
The Perfectionist (Anger)
The Helper (Pride)
The Performer (Deceit)
The Romantic (Envy)
The Investigator (Avarice)
The Loyalist (Fear)
The Enthusiast (Gluttony)
The Challenger (Lust)
The Peacemaker (Sloth)
They explain that these come in three triads of three: Anger or Gut: 8, 9, 1 ; Feeling or Heart 2, 3, 4; and Fear or Head: 5, 6, 7. Also each type is modified by one or both of their wings (the types adjacent to them) and have a type the gravitate to under stress and when they are secure. Sound a little confusing? Cron and Stabile walk us through all this both in introduction and the survey of each type.
Starting with the Anger or Gut triad and Type 8, they devote a chapter to each type, beginning with a list of 20 points of what it is like to be that type, describing the type in its healthy, average, and unhealthy expressions, and talk about its deadly sin. Then they give a more detailed description, talk about the type as a child, in their relationships and at work. Then they explore how the “wings” and the types they tend toward when feeling stressed or secure shape the expression of their type. They conclude with what spiritual transformation looks like for the type and ten steps for each type to take in transformation.
Throughout, they give examples of the type from people they know (including themselves and their families) as well as famous individuals (I discovered that Oliver Sacks, Albert Einstein, Stephen Hawking, Bill Gates, and Dietrich Bonhoeffer were/are likely the same type as I am–except they are all far more intelligent!). I found myself laughing as they describe the different types, until I got to my own, where I found myself alternately saying “yes” and “ouch!”
Like other writers like Richard Rohr, they don’t offer a test to find your type. Rather, here is what they recommend:
“If while reading a description you begin to feel squeamish because it’s captured your inner world in a way only someone who hacked into the server where you back up your personality could know about, then you are probably zeroing in on your number. When I first read my number I felt humiliated. It’s not pleasant to be the rat in a dark kitchen who is so focused on devouring crumbs that he doesn’t hear the stealthy homeowners approaching and therefore doesn’t have time to take cover before they suddenly switch on the light and catch the rat in the act with a bagel in its mouth. On the other hand I felt consoled. I didn’t know there were other rats like me. So if this happens, don’t despair. Remember each number has its assets and liabilities, blessings and blights. The embarrassment will pass, but in the words of novelist David Foster Wallace, ‘The truth will set you free, but not until it’s done with you.’ “
That gives you a pretty fair picture of what you are in for, both in terms of writing and your experience as you read this book. The one thing worse than knowing this stuff about ourselves is for it to be present in our lives and to not know it. Knowing helps us pursue paths of growth along the lines of who we are rather than who we aren’t. And it helps us to be gentler with all those other types, whose unique predicament parallels our own. Most of all, it begins to help us understand the depths of the grace of God that meets each of us uniquely and in the depths of our own deadly sins. If you are ready for and hungry for that kind of knowledge, then this book is a good place to begin.