Amit Shrestha Publishes The Unscripted Child on 12 August 2026

Author, educator and leadership practitioner Amit Shrestha has released The Unscripted Child: Helping Children Think for Themselves and Know Their Worth. The book came out on 12 August 2026 and is listed as available now on his website, amitshresthacoach.com. It is published in paperback and as an ebook.

The Unscripted Child is shaped by more than twenty years of work in education. It centres on the question Shrestha returns to throughout his work: how do we raise children who can think for themselves without losing their sense of worth? The book opens with a father who worries that his daughter lacks confidence because she was not chosen for a leadership badge. Minutes later, she notices a distressed younger child and finds the right adult to help, while her father is still looking for what she lacks. Shrestha challenges the tendency to solve every problem for children, script every response or attach worth to achievement. He asks adults instead to create the conditions in which children can practise thinking, failing, deciding, repairing and gradually standing on their own judgement.

The book is written for parents, teachers, carers, grandparents, coaches, mentors and school leaders who want to build capability in children. Across those settings he observed that children do not become capable simply because adults give them more instructions. They grow when they are given the safety to speak, the agency to decide, the feedback to improve, the emotional skills to steady themselves, a strong sense of identity, and a direction that gives their choices meaning. Shrestha approaches leadership as the ability to think independently, make sound decisions, take responsibility, respond constructively to setbacks and influence situations through character and judgement. He is also the author of BRAIN BUILDERS: Unlocking Critical Thinking in School Aged Children, a 10-week ebook on building critical thinking and problem solving in school-age children.

The Unscripted Child can be ordered through the buy links on amitshresthacoach.com, where readers can also sign up for the newsletter. Shrestha takes enquiries about author talks and events through the contact form on the same site.

About Amit Shrestha

Amit Shrestha is an author, educator, leadership practitioner and speaker. His work focuses on how adults can raise children who think for themselves without losing their sense of worth. He taught children across different age groups in Nepal for 13 years, then spent seven years working with teachers, school leaders and education professionals in Australia. He developed SAFE-ID, a six-part framework covering Safety, Agency, Feedback, Emotional Regulation, Identity and Direction. He holds a Master of Professional Accounting, has undertaken executive study in business analytics at Harvard, and trained as a leadership coach and facilitator through the John Maxwell Team. He has written The Unscripted Child and BRAIN BUILDERS.