I'm a practical person and I always roll my eyes at that statement. I think it's BS. It's like when people say "I'm so thankful I got cancer because it makes me appreciate life more. Seriously? You wouldn't rather NOT have had that experience of puking and your hair falling out?
I know for sure that I would have MUCH preferred to not waste 20 years of my life cleaning up after an alcoholic and being abused by him and now spending the next 20 trying to patch up my kids after a childhood that was pretty bad.
I'm grateful for the friends I've made here and in Al-Anon. I'm grateful for the recovery program I've worked, because it's allowed me to grow. But that just means I'm grateful for the treatment that was available to me when I needed it. Hell if I'm thankful for the abusive alcoholic that made the treatment necessary, or the disease behind it.