El tiempo que nos robaron (2021) by Rosa Huertas: Writing as a Lifeboat during COVID-19 Pandemic Confinement

The aim of this chapter is to analyse “El tiempo que nos robaron” (2021) by Rosa Huertas in the elements that can be most ascribed to pandemic writings. First of all, the author intends to underline the rise of the so called “pandemic narrative” to describe the traumatic experience during COVID-19 emergence. After presenting some theoretical considerations on journaling, the author will describe the salvific importance of writing and the primary importance of an interlocutor as an incentive for writing. The author intends to clarify to what extent the present and, in parallel, the past as it is recalled in the diary, is a stolen time. In addition, the importance of rituals must be taken into consideration. For this purpose, the author will describe the difficulty of filling the time as told by Huertas. The diary ends up being her main daily ritual. In this case, one can observe the importance of writing as a tool to objectify and distance oneself from the disease.