Following the arc of a woman's life, The Size of Our Bed begins with the title of its last poem, "Letter to a Dead Husband about the Size of Our Bed." The remaining poems traverse their past, the narrator's future.

Divided into sections from childhood and family, marriage, illness and death, recovery, acceptance and strength-contrasted with war-The Size of Our Bed offers poetry that is generous yet unflinching, personal, sometimes ironic and intense, yet resound with a reverence for both the joys and betrayals of life. These are poems of hard won wisdom and insight. They are emotionally introspective, even transformative.

Not all questions are answered.

Jacqueline Derner Tchakalian, a poet and visual artist, has lived in five different states and seven cities in California. Trained as a visual artist, she discovered writing poetry later in life, at which time she quit painting for ten years. She currently lives in Woodland Hills, CA, and has no interest in moving again.