What’s Your Number?: 5 Modern Enneagram Books
While the enneagram has been around for decades, it’s grown in popularity in recent years. Its popularity spans use in therapy to Instagram meme accounts dedicated to poking fun at each type. Maybe you’ve seen some of these posts floating around your Explore page and wondered what it was all about. In short, the enneagram is a system of personality typing that is based on someone’s core belief about how the world works. This belief drives a person’s motivations and fears.
Many of the popular enneagram books, such as The Wisdom of the Enneagram or Personality Types: Using the Enneagram for Self-Discovery, were written in the 1980s and ’90s. But as younger generations become interested, a resurgence of books has been published, shining a new light on this ancient system. People now use the enneagram to guide their own self-growth, build relationships, explore spirituality, and more.
If you’ve recently learned about this personality system, or are curious to learn more, here are five modern books about the enneagram.
Note: There is a lack of enneagram books written by people of color. As this system of personality typing gains popularity, it is my hope that books published on the topic better reflect a vast range of experiences. For content about the enneagram created by people of color, check out the Instagram accounts @enneagrameverything or @theblackenneagram.
Modern Enneagram Books
Take Care of Your Type by Christina S. Wilcox
Written by must-follow enneagram creator Christina S. Wilcox (@christinaswilcox on Instagram), this small but mighty book breaks down the ways each type can show up for themselves. Each section is sprinkled with illustrations, describes why each type needs self-love, and lists in detail the big and small things we can do for ourselves and the people in our lives. This Type 5 was especially impressed that each section seemed tailored to the communication style of each type — for example, the section for Type 5, a type that is intellectual and fact-based, contained data about why her advice made sense.
The Enneagram for Relationships by Ashton Whitmoyer-Ober
In this beautifully illustrated guide to the enneagram, Whitmoyer-Ober shares tools to cultivate deeper relationships using the powers of each type. She argues that understanding the different ways we relate to others is the key to maintaining healthy relationships. Describing what each type brings to the table, this book gives you all the tools needed to maintain strong relationships spanning the personal and professional.
The Honest Enneagram by Sarajane Case
Written by the creator behind the Instagram account @enneagramandcoffee, The Honest Enneagram is a delightful introduction to the world of the enneagram. Case gives a well-rounded look at each type: strengths, struggles, what that type brings to their relationships, and how they can be their best selves. Added in are cute illustrations and bingo cards for each type.
Millenneagram by Hannah Paasch
Millenneagram puts a modern twist on the enneagram, bringing it to life with irreverent humor. Paasch reframes each type with a fresh perspective, including new titles for each (for example, Type 4, The Individualist, becomes “The Tortured Artist”). Through her tongue in cheek writing, Paasch shows the reader how the enneagram can help us find and learn to love our whole selves.
The Enneagram and You by Gina Gomez
The Enneagram and You is for folks who are newer to the enneagram, giving the reader tools to identify their type. Gomez maps a course for how to use the strengths of each type to communicate and interact with friends, family, co-workers, and love interests. She elaborates on each type pairing, showcasing the harmonies and challenges that each pair has the potential to face. By the end of this book, you will have an understanding of each type and how they operate, allowing you to better comprehend the actions and responses of those closest to you.
For book recommendations based on your enneagram type, check out these book recommendations for each enneagram type.
