It's a really good book. I want to buy it but I haven't been able to find it in any stores. I wonder if I have to order it online?
There are many available at Amazon, including dozens of variously-priced used editions.
Anyways, yes, I will tell you that I have never related to that and didn't have a traumatizing incident. But I don't think what you described about Gerri has nothing to do with type. I think her type affected how she reacted to that traumatizing incident, since in a way, that's what enneagram types are--the patterns that we fall into to cope and deal with stress. Or at least that's one way of looking at it.
Yes, her personality type determined how she responded to her attempted murder by her own son. And I am assuming she didn't over-react to something relatively minor that wasn't even attempted murder, such as being physically pushed too hard during an assault. But it amounted to the same thing for her, and as a result she completely dissociated herself psychologically from anger. So instead of reacting toward or against others, she had somatic headache pains which I observed on a couple of occasions (because when confronted with an uncomfortable situation she suddenly grabbed her head and said "ow" or something like that). These extremes of type are very illuminating.
However, I'm not sure that spontaneity has anything to do with type 9. Any type can be spontaneous, or not (I'm not particularly spontaneous, and I'm especially reserved in social situations).
Type 9s are extraordinarily laid back. Where some people are impulsive and ADHD all the time, the sudden impulsive reactions of the unhealthy type 9s surprise even them.
At the time Elfboy described to me the slapping or hitting incident, he neglected to volunteer his response to his action. So I had to ask him, pointedly on two occasions, how he reacted to himself. The first time I asked, I didn't get much of an answer back. But the second time, he said his reaction was to think "Whoa, nigger!" His automatic response shocked him and then he had to reign it back in in so he didn't continue hitting her.
I'm not sure why you get that vibe from me, and I haven't noticed it in Elfboy either, though I can't say I know him that well. Unhealthy 9's are closed off, but I think I've been pretty open and receptive.
Unhealthy 9s are not closed off from reality, they are closed off from themselves. They are always open and receptive to others. Gerri's psychological wall defended herself from her own reactions, but then it emerged through a somatic response. (Somatic basically means "to the body.") In my experience, 9s are always active in reality. On the other hand, the more unhealthy they become the fewer chances they take with a reality that might bring up some unpleasant emotional response. As emotionally tough as they appear, they live in psychological glass houses, so they're not about to throw any rocks.
So when I say the 9s need to get back in touch with reality, it is to say they need to find experiences that elicit blocked responses within them. They need to get out and take a chance on a little excitement. This obviously isn't going to happen while engaged in navel-gazing about personality type.
I hope you don't get that vibe from me. I don't dislike you, it's just that sometimes you assume things about me that aren't necessarily true, and I'm not sure where those assumptions come from.
I make predictions based on reading your posts. But as a type 9, you're not going to have any strong personal likes or dislikes anyway.