Un-Cook Yourself: A Ratbag's Rules for Life

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It certainly seems like a product of the pandemic, where our heads and emotions have probably been a free-wheeling mish-mash for the last 18 months.

Beware, it includes explicit language and Australian slang but comes with a handy glossary to help understand the slang (and sometimes the swearing).And you will hear from a thoughtful, generous, kind person who has some wise words to offer to those who are a little bit different. Goddamn, the situations I wouldn't have had to endure if I'd just told a few people to fuck off in my life. Nat's What I Reckon was the tattooed lockdown saviour we didn't know we needed, rescuing us from packet food, jar sauce and total boredom with his hilarious viral recipe videos that got us cooking at home like champions again.

His attitude, his compassion, his commitment to honesty and laughter, his unwillingness to suffer fools. Nat’s narrational style is very conversational, and put me a little in mind of the audiobooks done by both Eddie Izzard and Brian Blessed in a way (He goes off on tangents in a very Eddie kind of way too, I noticed. He's been through some shit and he has so many endearing qualities that make you think so highly of this guy. Along with that there’s this amazing simplistic wisdom and positive outlook, and his whole approach is just the most refreshing thing.I cooked up Nat's 'Lamb Shanks With Mash' last night and was delicious (kicking myself I didn't take a photo. This foul mouthed, larrikin Aussie helped lift my spirits time and again during the darker days of Melbourne’s endless lockdowns, constantly delivering some of the most genuine and hilarious content on socials that I’ve ever followed. The ethos of ‘put a whole fucken bulb of garlic in, or fucken don’t, whatever trevor’ is how I think we should all be living our lives. Hilarious and kind of heartwarming, and the combination of Nat's unique way with words and his reassuring and empathetic approach to problems is on show at its fullest here.

Nat's hilarious social commentary has collected him a fast-growing, dedicated audience of over two million along the way, and his videos have clocked up more than 100 million views across all platforms. My favourite quote: “I just hate the idea that someone is out there giving themselves a hard time for not being enough for the world around them.Being able to recognise and say no to things that you know won't help you is what gives you boundaries and personality. All the same it has a conversational tone which is refreshing, and comes with some very creative illustrated recipes.

This had me cackling, wincing, feeling the feels, flailing in emphatic agreement, and annoying those around me by reading out quotes and sending pictures to my mates. The book supports people in managing these challenges and provides channels to deal with these issues.

Un-cook Yourself and Death to Jar Sauce won the Booktopia Favourite Australian Book Award in 2020 and 2021 respectively, with Nat donating the winning proceeds each time to Beyond Blue. As a fan myself; I was eagerly awaiting the release of this book to find out more about the man that encouraged all us to fuck jar sauce and cook from scratch. It properly made me laugh out loud and at the same time had me nodding along with so many of Nat's takes on life.