Complex sentence: His father drifted in and out of the family's life, and when he deserted the family for good, Audie dropped out of fifth grade and got a job picking cotton for $1 a day to help support the family.
Split into simpler sentences: His father drifted in and out of the family's life and eventually deserted the family for good. Murphy dropped out of school in fifth grade and got a job picking cotton for $1 a day to help support the family.