Complex sentence: Thomas was raised by her grandmother and great-aunts, spending much of her childhood at the beauty salon operated by her grandmother Thomas was raised in a religious household: her grandmother was also the pianist and choir director in a Pentecostal church.
Split into simpler sentences: Thomas was raised by her grandmother and great-aunts, spending much of her childhood at the beauty salon operated by her grandmother. She was raised in a religious household: her grandmother was also the pianist and choir director in a Pentecostal church.