Issaquah woman launches Divorced Warriors Club

After an especially cold hike in February, a group of women gathered for dinner at a local Issaquah restaurant. They sat around a table, exchanging phone numbers and sharing laughs and stories.

“I feel like I’m sitting at the cool girl lunch table,” one woman said.

Watching the scene unfold in front of her, Julianna Bryant, the group organizer, thought to herself, “this is really working.”

The group of women are members of the Divorced Warriors Club, designed to connect women who have gone through or are going through divorce. The idea came to Bryant after she divorced her high school sweetheart in her mid-30s, having realized she lacked deep friendships and self-developed hobbies.

“I had one girlfriend up in Oak Harbor, and that was it,” she said. “So I started hiking. It was something that I knew I could do on my own … and that was kind of my thing, my jam, and it still is.”

Alongside hiking, Bryant began a divorce recovery coaching business to support women and get them “excited about life again post-divorce.”

Bryant then blended her passion for hiking and supporting women and hiking with her experience navigating divorce, leading her to create a free meet-up group for single women.

“It kind of grew into wanting to help women, figuring out how to support women and kind of helping them through the divorce aspect,” she said.

As women gradually joined her on hikes, she witnessed developing “sisterhood” bonds, women sharing their phone numbers and life experiences — she recalled thinking, “this could be something.”

Observing the successful meet-ups, Bryant once again embraced uncertainty, left her coaching business, and created the Divorced Warriors Club in October 2023.

Bryant said she was surprised when two women quickly enrolled in the year-long membership. This quick validation would mirror the trajectory of the club’s next few months as women began to buy in.

Currently, the club has over 13 members of all ages. The group has traveled around the Seattle region, completing hikes at Little Si and Twin Falls in North Bend, Wallace Falls in Gold Bar and Heybrook Ridge in Index.

“I’m excited to take the ladies up to some alpine lakes this summer,” Bryant said.

The club, which offers a monthly or yearly membership, includes two to three arranged monthly events that involve activities beyond hiking, such as dining at local restaurants, craft projects, concerts and meet-ups with members’ kids.

Resources, such as a private Facebook page, monthly newsletters, “sisterhood support” calls and empowering book club and podcast recommendations are also available to members.

As the club grows, Bryant hopes to expand from the current chapter in the greater Seattle area to multiple chapters across the state.

“Really, I’d love to go worldwide,” she said.

As the club anticipates new adventures and growth, Bryant remains focused on providing a bridge for women navigating divorce and forging new friendships while building their next life chapter.

“I want ladies to know, this can be a place just to talk, you can dream, you can be heard, you can be you, no judgment. We’re here to support you,” she said, “and maybe ladies only need this group for a few months, maybe for a year…maybe they find really good friendships, and they’re like, ‘oh, I don’t need this community,’ and that’s OK.”