CommunityCon comes together

Brandt attends anime convention with help of local donators Losing a loved one is never easy. And after losing her mother to liver disease and cancer, Juneau-Douglas High School sophomore Allison Brandt, 16, learned that the hard way. "When my mom first told me, I was shocked," Brandt said. "But she had lung cancer before, and we knew it was a possibility it would come back. But I was sad." Despite her family's tribulation, Brandt found solace in her friends and family - and the support of the community. "I like to draw so I got most of my feelings out by that," she said. "I noticed that my pictures became psychotic really, but one of my friends said that when her bother died, she felt like she was going a little crazy, so I felt better after that. ... My friends helped me a lot. Robyn's mom had cancer too, so she was... [read full story]