Those Lost Years

IS there an alcoholic alive who hasn't wished that he could retrace his steps in life, living through certain experiences again but acting more wisely this time? Don't some AA members often remark, rather wistfully, how much better life would have been if sobriety had come to them sooner? Who hasn't thought, also, how nice it must be for those who grow up already possessing most of the AA principles but without first enduring the alcoholic's pain and remorse?