Sasha Grey publishes book with self-portraits, short essays

Former pornographic actress Sasha Grey, who took her stage name from Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray, has published a book with self-portraits and short essays.

According to the Daily, Grey, 23, who was born Marina Ann Hantzis, wrote the book Neu Sex.

"It's three and a half year's worth of photographs," Fox News quoted Grey as saying.

"There's some pretty raw shots in there, so it wasn't necessarily about being the prettiest or being perfect," she said.

Neu Sex, which includes citations from Nan Goldin, Sartre, and Jung, had a rather auspicious start.

"I gave these photos to my literary agent around 2007 and he loved them and he suggested publishing them," explained Grey.

"When I was growing up, I felt really conflicted about my sexuality. And until I started having sex-I was a senior in high school-I was just guilt-ridden. And now this is just a continuation of my awaking sexuality," she said.

Grey hopes that Neu Sex will change the way people think of her.

"I think the most difficult part of overcoming the stereotypes is people's perception of me before they've ever met me. I wanted to prove people wrong," she added.