Authority

I think the reason I still shake when dealing with authority figures (eg. when telling the boss I'm quitting) is a childhood event.

My mother has been married three times now. The current husband is great. Her first husband, my father, I had only vague memories of until I met him for what felt like the first time at the age of 22. In between, there was my stepfather.

One day there was a commotion in the bedroom. I came in to find my drunken stepfather threatening my mother with a gun. "Stop!" I said. "She's my wife!" he said. "She's my mother!" I said.

That's really all I remember now, but I see the connection.