Successful relationships of all kinds begin with seeing through the other person's eyes. It's a simple practice but not that easy, especially with those close to us.

A Field Guide to Humans is a playful, pragmatic guide to understanding the people in your life and improving your relationships with them. Author and therapist Frank De Luca presents the Enneagram, a model of the human psyche as nine interrelated personality types, as a lens through which to see others — their strengths, their foibles, and what makes them tick.

The title, A Field Guide to Humans, is an invitation to regard people with the same wonder and openness that a wildlife biologist brings to studying the natural world. It is possible to have the same objectivity, curiosity, and respect when we look at human beings. Seeing friends, family, coworkers, and others in this way invites curiosity and compassion rather than criticism — a reminder that whomever you are interacting with, they want the same basic things you but they go about it differently.

The book's nine chapters present the identifying characteristics of the nine Enneagram types, their limited and evolved expressions, as well as insights and tips for relating to people of each personality type. Delightfully illustrated with Nancy Bardos's original artwork, the chapters include first-person vignettes by people of each type or by those connected to someone of a certain type. The book's approach reflects Dr. De Luca's decades of expertise with the experiential narrative tradition of teaching the Enneagram.

Open the book and open your heart to a compassionate way of living with friends, family, colleagues, and even complete strangers.

My hope is that you will become more curious about all the people in your life, seeing them with fresh eyes and a more tender heart. — Frank De Luca